prepubescent

American  

[pree-pyoo-bes-uhnt] / ˌpri pjuˈbɛs ənt /

adjective

1. of or relating to the years immediately preceding puberty, prepubertal.

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noun

1. a prepubescent boy or girl.

prepubescent British  

/ ˌpriːpjuːˈbɛsənt /

noun

1. a person who has not yet reached puberty

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adjective

1. not yet having reached puberty

Other Word Forms

• prepubescence
  noun

Etymology

Origin of prepubescent

First recorded in 1900–05; pre- + pubescent

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

prepubescent

Optimal bone health starts in utero, but our prepubescent years are key to setting our skeleton up for later life.

From Salon ● May 1, 2024

Who could have figured the largest following was for a prepubescent Korean American who was first identified as a prodigy in a YouTube video at age 7.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 5, 2023

Skaug pointed to data showing that, in most cases, gender dysphoria diagnosed in prepubescent children isn’t sustained in adolescence.

From Seattle Times ● May 21, 2023

A better movie would have taken its familiar premise, of a nearly-incompetent spy who’s shown how to get the job done by his prepubescent pal, and leaned into it.

From New York Times ● Jun. 25, 2020

In Phnom Penh, Khouy and Meng were already adults, Keav was a teenage girl, Kim a prepubescent, and Geak a baby.

From "First They Killed My Father: A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers" by Loung Ung