Synonyms of adolescent

adolescent 1 of 2

adjective

1

as in young

being in the early stage of life, growth, or development

an adolescent sheepdog, who hasn't quite gotten the hang of keeping the sheep huddled together

Synonyms & Similar Words

• young
• juvenile
• youthful
• teenage
• immature
• youngish
• inexperienced
• preteen
• underage
• infantile
• embryonic
• subadult
• emergent
• minor
• burgeoning
• flowering
• childlike
• childish
• callow
• puerile
• babyish
• ephebic
• green
• undeveloped
• unfinished
• unformed
• infantine
• unripe
• flourishing
• unfledged
• raw
• blooming
• blossoming
• unripened
• kiddish

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• adult
• older
• mature
• elderly
• senior
• old
• geriatric
• matured
• aged
• ancient
• aging
• senescent
• grown-up
• oldish
• long-lived
• full-blown
• full-fledged
• ripe
• golden
• middle-aged
• ripened
• mellow
• senile
• over-the-hill
• doddering
• decrepit
• spavined
• tottery
• anile

2

as in childish

having or showing the annoying qualities (as silliness) associated with children

would hope that the college students had outgrown such adolescent behavior

Synonyms & Similar Words

• childish
• immature
• juvenile
• infantile
• babyish
• puerile
• jejune
• kiddish
• girlish
• boyish
• innocent
• childlike
• simple
• bratty
• unsophisticated
• brattish
• naive
• girlie
• simplistic

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• adult
• mature
• grown-up
• sophisticated
• experienced
• knowing
• worldly
• smart
• cosmopolitan
• unchildlike
• worldly-wise

3

as in immature

lacking in adult experience or maturity

took a group of adolescent recruits and turned them into professional warriors

Synonyms & Similar Words

• immature
• inexperienced
• young
• juvenile
• youthful
• callow
• unfledged
• puerile
• unformed
• unripe
• unripened
• infantile
• green
• childish
• wet behind the ears
• raw
• innocent
• naive
• girlish
• babyish
• boyish
• youngish
• infantilized
• infantine
• virginal
• maidenly
• unsophisticated
• ingenuous
• untrained
• kiddish
• untried
• unknowing
• unseasoned
• juvenescent
• tender

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• adult
• mature
• experienced
• ripe
• advanced
• precocious
• grown-up
• sophisticated
• knowing
• worldly
• savvy
• worldly-wise

adolescent

2 of 2

noun

as in juvenile

Related Words

• juvenile
• teenager
• kid
• youngster
• tween
• minor
• moppet
• kiddo
• kiddie
• boy
• youngling
• youth
• stripling
• nipper
• lad
• laddie
• sonny
• shaver
• boychick
• whippersnapper
• urchin
• shaveling
• gamin
• hobbledehoy
• callant
• boyo
• guttersnipe
• toddler
• schoolboy
• imp
• tyke
• tad
• squirt
• tot
• mama's boy

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of adolescent

Adjective

Takeovers are at once a timeless illustration of the volatility of crowds—perhaps especially adolescent crowds—and of the much newer potentialities unleashed by the internet a few decades ago. — Robert F. Worth, The Atlantic, 10 July 2026

Another practice involved staff stuffing insects, herbs and different scents into the leaves of lettuce heads, offering the adolescent skunks another challenge that would put their developing foraging skills to the test. — Caleb Lunetta, San Diego Union-Tribune, 8 July 2026

Noun

In a 2025 study of 209 adolescents aged 10 to 17 who had a depressive or anxiety disorder, researchers examined iron deficiency and anxiety through brain scans and interviews. — Sarah Bence, Verywell Health, 10 June 2026

These provisions also do not guarantee that an adolescent will be granted an exception. — Sunaya Krishnapura, STAT, 10 June 2026