Synonyms of adult

adult 1 of 2

noun

as in grown-up

a fully grown person

at the beach, the adults sat under broad umbrellas while the children splashed in the water

Synonyms & Similar Words

• grown-up
• elder
• senior citizen
• oldster
• middle-ager
• ancient
• graybeard
• old-timer
• senior
• gaffer

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• child
• kid
• toddler
• infant
• cub
• tyke
• tot
• moppet
• baby
• adolescent
• youth
• juvenile
• bairn
• tad
• youngster
• minor
• teen
• teenager
• youngling
• preteen
• tween
• teenybopper
• teener
• preteen-ager

adult

2 of 2

adjective

ə-ˈdəlt 

1

as in mature

relating to or typical of adults; displaying proper maturity

an adult reaction to the issue

Synonyms & Similar Words

• mature
• grown-up

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• adolescent
• immature
• infantile
• childish
• kiddish

2

as in pornographic

dealing in or with explicitly sexual material

an adult magazine

Synonyms & Similar Words

• pornographic
• erotic
• mature
• sexy
• suggestive
• X-rated
• hard-core
• bedroom
• porny
• gross
• crude
• obscene
• indecent
• lustful
• lascivious
• filthy
• kinky
• soft-core
• lewd
• naughty
• bawdy
• coarse
• prurient
• ribald
• smutty
• salacious
• dirty
• vulgar
• unprintable
• perverted
• immodest
• racy
• unbecoming
• indecorous
• earthy
• foul
• wicked
• salty
• profane
• nasty
• wanton
• debasing

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• clean
• Victorian
• puritanical
• prudish
• G-rated
• proper
• prim
• straitlaced
• priggish
• correct
• decent
• polite
• genteel
• decorous
• seemly

3

as in matured

fully grown or developed

insects that are butterflies in their adult stage

Synonyms & Similar Words

• mature
• matured
• ripe
• older
• aged
• aging
• full-fledged
• full-blown
• old
• ripened
• golden
• long-lived
• mellow

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• young
• juvenile
• adolescent
• youthful
• immature
• green
• unripe
• burgeoning
• youngish
• flowering
• flourishing
• unripened
• blooming
• unfinished
• undeveloped
• unformed
• blossoming
• unfledged

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of adult

Noun

Told from a baby’s perspective, the Nickelodeon classic kept the action at ground (or carpet) level, offering a hilarious exploration of how tykes perceive and process adult concepts. — Madeline Boardman, Entertainment Weekly, 11 Aug. 2026

Shot over 25 years from 1999 onwards, this cinematic work evolved from an earlier project that resulted in exhibitions and books, which also recorded, in large-format photos, Guile and Beli’s child-to-adult evolution. — Leslie Felperin, HollywoodReporter, 11 Aug. 2026

Adjective

Justin Vernon’s midwestern charm and pliable falsetto has always endeared him to indie-rock dads raised on Michael McDonald, but starting a family himself between Bon Iver projects turned this year’s Sable, Fable into a deep examination of the fatherly adult contemporary figure in popular music. — Craig Jenkins, Vulture, 2 Dec. 2025

Corrigan has also appeared in independent non-adult films such as Chillerama and appeared in Gus Van Sant’s Harvey Milk biopic Milk. — Mathew Rodriguez, Them., 29 Oct. 2025