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
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
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
Adiel Kaplan, CNN Money, 17 Nov. 2025
In their analysis of 96 studies including more than 400,000 young people across multiple countries, the highest prevalence was observed in children and adolescents with obesity, followed by those who were overweight—though those of normal weight were also affected.
—Hannah Millington, MSNBC Newsweek, 13 Nov. 2025
Justin Chang, New Yorker, 20 Nov. 2025
In May 2024, Modu helped launch Borno’s first immunization campaign to vaccinate adolescent girls against human papillomavirus (HPV), the pathogen that causes nearly all cervical cancers.
—Adiel Kaplan, CNN Money, 17 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for adolescent
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Noun
His daughters were among 86 million girls vaccinated as part of a campaign led by Gavi, a public-private partnership that works with government health systems in lower-income countries to protect children and adolescents against more than 20 infectious diseases.
—Adiel Kaplan, CNN Money, 17 Nov. 2025
In their analysis of 96 studies including more than 400,000 young people across multiple countries, the highest prevalence was observed in children and adolescents with obesity, followed by those who were overweight—though those of normal weight were also affected.
—Hannah Millington, MSNBC Newsweek, 13 Nov. 2025
Adjective
Her present-day counterpart, an adolescent named Lenka (Laeni Geiseler), soon learns to do the same in the face of male attention.
—Justin Chang, New Yorker, 20 Nov. 2025
In May 2024, Modu helped launch Borno’s first immunization campaign to vaccinate adolescent girls against human papillomavirus (HPV), the pathogen that causes nearly all cervical cancers.
—Adiel Kaplan, CNN Money, 17 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for adolescent
Cite this Entry
“Adolescent.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/adolescent. Accessed 24 Nov. 2025.
Copy CitationMedical Definition
adolescent
1 of 2 noun
ad·o·les·cent
-ᵊnt
: one that is in the state of adolescence
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