as in grown-up
a fully grown person
at the beach, the adults sat under broad umbrellas while the children splashed in the water
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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2
as in pornographic
dealing in or with explicitly sexual material
an adult magazine
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in matured
fully grown or developed
insects that are butterflies in their adult stage
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Examples of adult in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Laura Daniella Sepulveda, The Arizona Republic, 16 Sep. 2024
Activities bring more than 3,600 volunteers together to participate in more than 160 projects benefiting local nonprofits, focusing on education and access to basic needs such as food, shelter and health as well as supporting veterans, older adults and environmental protection efforts.
—Isha Trivedi, The Mercury News, 15 Sep. 2024
oregonlive, 24 Jan. 2023
There wasn’t much room for making mistakes in this version of adulting—which is, of course, the only way to become truly adult.
—Claire Cohen, Vogue, 15 Jan. 2023
See all Example Sentences for adult 
Noun
The analysis ranked the 50 states across 30 key metrics, ranging from the depression rate and the share of adults feeling productive to income growth and the unemployment rate.
—Laura Daniella Sepulveda, The Arizona Republic, 16 Sep. 2024
Activities bring more than 3,600 volunteers together to participate in more than 160 projects benefiting local nonprofits, focusing on education and access to basic needs such as food, shelter and health as well as supporting veterans, older adults and environmental protection efforts.
—Isha Trivedi, The Mercury News, 15 Sep. 2024
Adjective
The first whale found this month, a sub-adult male gray whale, was recovered Jan. 11 in Winchester Bay and was slain by killer whales, according to Milstein.
—oregonlive, 24 Jan. 2023
There wasn’t much room for making mistakes in this version of adulting—which is, of course, the only way to become truly adult.
—Claire Cohen, Vogue, 15 Jan. 2023
See all Example Sentences for adult
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'adult.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Thesaurus Entries Near adult
Cite this Entry
“Adult.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/adult. Accessed 1 Oct. 2024.
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