Definition of adolescence
1 : the period of life when a child develops into an adult : the period from puberty to maturity terminating legally at the age of majority (see majority 2a) He struggled through his adolescence.
2 : the state or process of growing up
3 : a stage of development (as of a language or culture) prior to maturity
Explore Merriam-Webster
Examples of adolescence in a Sentence
Their children are on the verge of adolescence.
He struggled through his adolescence.
Recent Examples of adolescence from the Web
-
Maher agreed with Sasse's contention that adolescence is lasting longer than ever.
-
What is unusual is for those sentiments to withstand adolescence, young adulthood, independence, and the beginning of married and family life….
-
In the accompanying interview, Milo opens up about shirking away from the spotlight for most of his adolescence, and working as an electrician for five years after his high school graduation before finally embracing a life in front of the camera.
-
Some children are even fortunate enough to find their vomiting episodes replaced by migraines after adolescence.
-
No matter the good intentions of the parents or how self-sacrificing their desire to keep their child at home, adolescence, with its onrush of agitating hormones, tends to make home care an impossibility.
-
But this, after all, is the way of adolescence — to make much out of next to nothing.
-
Think of it as an adolescence: awkward, lanky, and stuck between its youthful naïveté and the eventual self-awareness of adulthood.
-
Newsroom layoffs have become increasingly common as the newspaper industry learns to cope with its awkward online adolescence.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'adolescence'. Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Origin and Etymology of adolescence
see 1adolescent
First Known Use: 15th century
ADOLESCENCE Defined for Kids
adolescence
playDefinition of adolescence for Students
: the period of life between childhood and adulthood
Medical Dictionary
adolescence
playMedical Definition of adolescence
1: the state or process of growing up
2: the period of life from puberty to maturity terminating legally at the age of majority
Learn More about adolescence
-
Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for adolescence Spanish Central: Translation of adolescence Nglish: Translation of adolescence for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of adolescence for Arabic speakers Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about adolescence
Seen and Heard
What made you want to look up adolescence? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).
Writing? Check your grammar now!