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ad·o·les·cent | \ ˌa-də-ˈle-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
adjectiveDefinition 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
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Synonyms & Antonyms for adolescent
Synonyms: Adjective
Antonyms: Adjective
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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
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Recent Examples on the Web: Noun Refusing timely medical interventions for adolescents might prolong gender dysphoria and contribute to an appearance that could provoke abuse and stigmatization.
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Katie Reilly, Time, "As South Dakota State House Votes on Anti-Trans Bill, Lawmaker Says He Regrets Comparing Gender Confirmation Surgeries to Nazi Medical Experiments," 29 Jan. 2020 Between 50,000 and 100,000 adolescents currently spend at least part of the year in these facilities.
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Heather E. Mooney, The Conversation, "Why it’s unclear whether private programs for ‘troubled teens’ are working," 27 Jan. 2020 The research team behind the new work tried to obtain DNA from 18 different skeletons and succeeded with four: a young child and an adolescent from a single grave 8,000 years old, and neighboring graves of two young boys from about 3,000 years ago.
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John Timmer, Ars Technica, "Ancient African skeletons hint at a “ghost lineage” of humans," 22 Jan. 2020 Canyon State Academy was founded in 1948 for at-risk children and adolescents, according to the academy's website.
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Chelsea Curtis, azcentral, "17-year-old Canyon State Academy student dies after being found unresponsive," 23 Jan. 2020 The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report that 13.7 million children and adolescents aged two to 19 are currently considered obese.
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Tara Edwards, refinery29.com, "The Trump Administration Moved To Roll Back Michelle Obama’s School Lunch Program On Her Birthday," 18 Jan. 2020 Still, the latest survey found that more than a third of American adults and 17% of children and adolescents are obese, and millions more overweight.
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Edward Kosner, WSJ, "‘The Strenuous Life’ Review: Sportsman in Chief," 16 Jan. 2020 Similar studies have shown the benefits of exposing children and adolescents to art.
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Maria Cramer, New York Times, "Another Benefit to Going to Museums? You May Live Longer," 27 Dec. 2019 In 2018, the American Academy of Pediatrics released its first-ever policy statement for parents and clinicians caring for transgender and gender-diverse children and adolescents.
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Heidi Stevens, chicagotribune.com, "Column: Dwyane Wade and Gabrielle Union offer a master class in parenting with their unwavering support of son Zion’s path," 2 Dec. 2019 Recent Examples on the Web: Adjective As an adolescent, singer-guitarist Adrianne Lenker was briefly groomed as a teen-pop star.
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Mark Jenkins, Washington Post, "Big Thief transcends ‘folk’ at 9:30 Club," 11 Nov. 2019 Research indicates that the adolescent brain is particularly prone to risk-taking, peer-seeking and lack of impulse control.
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Joelle Renstrom, The Conversation, "Is secondhand screen time the new secondhand smoking?," 22 Jan. 2020 McConville is a clinical psychologist specializing in adolescent and family psychology.
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Mark Mcconville, WSJ, "Parenting Isn’t Over When Kids Grow Up," 18 Jan. 2020 The districts contend vaping is growing as an epidemic among their adolescent and teenage students, and that manufacturers' deceptive marketing tactics are to blame.
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Olivia Krauth, The Courier-Journal, "This Kentucky school district is the fourth to sue vaping company Juul," 16 Dec. 2019 Name one song that was really important to you as a young person (adolescent or teenager) and why?
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Dave Brooks, Billboard, "Five Questions With Chip Hooper Nominee Chris Jordan From UTA," 30 Oct. 2019 Both Tom and Carol taught adolescent and adult classes at St. Jerome in Oconomowoc and adult education classes at St. Bruno’s in Dousman.
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Evan Frank, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "An Oconomowoc teacher who created the first video yearbook in Wisconsin remembered for his innovation has died," 29 Oct. 2019 Objections from newer member-states are disregarded as adolescent moaning.
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The Economist, "Charlemagne Why stereotypes rule in Brussels," 11 Jan. 2020 Across North America, millions of grandparents are currently raising grandchildren, of course, some people assume that a 68-year-old man is an adolescent’s grandfather!
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Amy Dickinson, Detroit Free Press, "Older father hates Granddad assumptions," 1 Jan. 2020
See MoreThese 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.
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More Definitions for adolescent
adolescent
nounad·o·les·cent | \ ˌa-də-ˈle-sᵊnt \
\Kids Definition of adolescent
: a person who is no longer a child but not yet an adult
adolescent
nounad·o·les·cent | \ -ᵊnt \
\Medical Definition of adolescent
(Entry 1 of 2)
: one that is in the state of adolescence
adolescent
adjectiveMedical Definition of adolescent (Entry 2 of 2)
: of, relating to, or being in adolescence
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Time Traveler for adolescent
The first known use of adolescent was in the 15th century
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