adolescent

1 of 2

noun

ad·​o·​les·​cent ˌa-də-ˈle-sᵊnt 

: a young person who is developing into an adult : one who is in the state of adolescence

adolescent

2 of 2

adjective

1

: of, relating to, or being in adolescence

adolescent growth

adolescent boys and girls

2

: emotionally or intellectually immature

did not appreciate her husband's adolescent high jinks

adolescently adverb

Synonyms

Adjective

• immature
• juvenile
• young
• youngish
• youthful

Examples of adolescent in a Sentence

Noun

Their children are now adolescents.

Adjective

an adolescent sheepdog, who hasn't quite gotten the hang of keeping the sheep huddled together

would hope that the college students had outgrown such adolescent behavior

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

DTaP is for children under age 7, while Tdap is for adolescents and adults. —Nour Rahal, Detroit Free Press, 13 Dec. 2024

Social media can harm kids’ mental health There is a large body of research linking social media use to negative mental health effects on kids and adolescents. —Alison Escalante, Forbes, 10 Dec. 2024

Adjective

The agency has said nicotine from vapes can adversely influence development of adolescent brains, affecting attention, learning and memory, and their use may be associated with asthma, chronic bronchitis and emphysema. —David Ovalle and Rachel Roubein The Washington Post, arkansasonline.com, 2 Dec. 2024

Fifty-three characters experienced pregnancy, though only 51 appeared on-screen, representing 3.3 percent of all adolescent or adult women in popular films. —Rebecca Keegan, The Hollywood Reporter, 30 Oct. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English, borrowed from Middle French & Latin; Middle French, borrowed from Latin adolēscent-, adolēscens "young man or woman, youth," noun derivative of adolēscens adolescent entry 2

Adjective

borrowed from French & Latin; French, going back to Middle French, borrowed from Latin adolēscent-, adolēscens, adulēscens "young, youthful," present participle of adolēscere, adulēscere "to become mature, grow up" — more at adult entry 1

First Known Use

Noun

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Adjective

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing adolescent

• sub-adolescent

Medical Definition

adolescent

1 of 2 noun

ad·​o·​les·​cent -ᵊnt 

: one that is in the state of adolescence

adolescent

2 of 2 adjective

: of, relating to, or being in adolescence

adolescently adverb