adolescent

noun

ad·o·les·cent | \-sᵊnt

Definition of adolescent

(Entry 1 of 2)

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

adolescent

adjective

Definition of adolescent (Entry 2 of 2)

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

Other Words from adolescent Synonyms & Antonyms More Example Sentences Learn More about adolescent

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Synonyms & Antonyms for adolescent

Synonyms: Adjective

immature, juvenile, young, youngish, youthful

Antonyms: Adjective

adult, grown-up, mature, matured

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

The adolescents were practicing throwing grenades at government soldiers. — David D’arcy, SFChronicle.com, "Susan Meiselas photography retrospective at SFMOMA," 12 July 2018 Photosensitive epilepsy is more common in children and adolescents, according to the Epilepsy Foundation. — Korin Miller, SELF, "Why Movie Theaters Are Posting Warnings About All of the Strobe Lights in 'Incredibles 2'," 22 June 2018 The report looked at national survey data on supplement use among 4,404 children and adolescents from 2003 to 2014. — Alexandra Sifferlin, Time, "A Third of Children Use Dietary Supplements. Here’s Why Researchers Say That’s Concerning," 18 June 2018 Ninety percent of adult concussions resolve in seven to 10 days, but recovery time often is longer for children and adolescents. — Michael Roizen, M.d., And Mehmet Oz, Houston Chronicle, "How can you recognize and prevent suicide?," 17 June 2018 The lion's share of such children are the adolescents. — Carol Marbin Miller, miamiherald, "Hisplace," 15 May 2018 These are also the adolescents who do not respond to punishment: nothing hurts. — Rob Verger, Newsweek, "Newsweek Rewind: 15 Years After Columbine, a Nation Still Asks ‘Why?’," 17 Apr. 2014 Nearly all victims were women, and a surprising number were adolescents. — Tom Jackman, chicagotribune.com, "In police sexual misconduct case, Michigan woman sues officer she accused of assault," 13 July 2018 Nearly all victims were women, and a surprising number were adolescents. — Tom Jackman, Washington Post, "In police sexual misconduct case, Michigan woman sues officer she accused of assault," 13 July 2018

Recent Examples on the Web: Adjective

And now here in her living room sits the weeping Mrs. Vinnicombe, mother of two adolescent sons, newly deserted by her husband, devastated by jealousy. — Cynthia Ozick, New York Times, "One Last Book From a Virtuoso of the Short Story," 14 May 2018 But not so fast, says cognitive neuroscientist Sarah-Jayne Blakemore: The adolescent brain is nothing to laugh at. — Erin Blakemore, Washington Post, "In the teenage brain, rapidly changing circuitry, not just hormones, explains a lot," 13 May 2018 About one in four adolescent girls deliberately harmed herself in the previous year, often by cutting or burning, compared to about one in 10 boys. — Emily Baumgaertner, New York Times, "How Many Teenage Girls Deliberately Harm Themselves? Nearly 1 in 4, Survey Finds.," 2 July 2018 Before joining Pathway, Golick worked as a therapist at Muir Woods Adolescent & Family Services, a residential care program for adolescent boys. — Chelsea Bailey, NBC News, "California veterans home victims ‘lived their lives to serve,’ friends say," 10 Mar. 2018 From the time they are born, children emotionally attach to their caregiver and vice versa, said Lisa Fortuna, medical director for child and adolescent psychiatry at Boston Medical Center. — William Wan, chicagotribune.com, "What separation from parents does to children: 'The effect is catastrophic'," 18 June 2018 From the time they are born, children emotionally attach to their caregiver and vice versa, said Lisa Fortuna, medical director for child and adolescent psychiatry at Boston Medical Center. — William Wan, Washington Post, "What separation from parents does to children: ‘The effect is catastrophic’," 18 June 2018 This play by the writer and filmmaker Kevin Willmott examines those adolescent years, which fostered Dr. King’s decision to become both a minister and a civil rights activist. — Laurel Graeber, New York Times, "7 Things to Do With Your Kids in N.Y.C. This Weekend," 21 June 2018 Boston Medical Center’s Grayken Center for Addiction is teaming up with the national nonprofit Partnership for Drug-Free Kids to provide free resources and advice to parents whose adolescent or adult children are struggling with addiction. — Felice J. Freyer, BostonGlobe.com, "Boston Medical Center establishes a lifeline for parents of addicted teens, adults," 6 June 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'adolescent.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

History and Etymology for adolescent

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

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