GROWING UP Synonyms: 47 Similar and Opposite Words

growing up

verb

present participle of grow up

as in growing

to become mature everyone has to grow up at some point in their lives

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Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of growing up That uncertainty has only added to the anxiety for people who see the theater as an important part of growing up in Summit County. — Spencer Wilson, CBS News, 10 Aug. 2026 Here are five ideas that may have been drilled into you growing up that could sabotage your success — and what to do instead. — Melody Wilding, CNBC, 9 Aug. 2026 Despite growing up in San Diego, Marcelo Mayer loved watching the Giants. — Justice Delos Santos, Mercury News, 9 Aug. 2026 Americans over 50 are far more likely to say their parents viewed them as average growing up. — Catherina Gioino, Fortune, 9 Aug. 2026 As Brun was growing up in the 1970s and 1980s, Hawaii’s sugarcane plantations were shutting down amid growing international competition and the removal of a federal sugar-industry subsidy. — Guthrie Scrimgeour, Rolling Stone, 2 Aug. 2026 Kids who, like him, are growing up afraid and anxious because of domestic violence at home, and who need what Torre didn’t have — somewhere safe to go to for help. — Los Angeles Times, 26 July 2026 Their frequent family road trips, including multiple visits to Rock City, scripted her life growing up in Georgia. — Judith Garrison, AJC.com, 16 June 2026 Questions of the body, identity and growing up are also central to the selection. — Leo Barraclough, Variety, 9 June 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for growing up

Verb

Leaders in Springfield say the growing ICE presence many fear hasn’t yet materialized.

— Catherine E. Shoichet, CNN Money, 9 Aug. 2026
Around 70,000 people used the city’s designated Seine swimming areas in July, according to Paris City Hall, compared with nearly 100,000 during the entire summer last year, suggesting growing public interest in reclaiming the river for recreation.

— ABC News, ABC News, 8 Aug. 2026

Definition of growing

Verb

Trapilo is progressing well, and Johnson wouldn’t rule out his return to practice by the end of preseason.

— ABC News, ABC News, 11 Aug. 2026
One of the more unusual aspects of the collaboration is that both Formula One releases carry the same 16-year age statement rather than progressing to a different age.

— Emily Price, Forbes.com, 10 Aug. 2026

Definition of progressing

Verb

However, the core challenge is financing rapidly aging AI hardware like long-term assets.

— Robert J. Szczerba, Forbes.com, 11 Aug. 2026
Collins Aerospace will provide engineering support focused on modernizing the aircraft’s avionics and keeping aging systems in service.

— Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 11 Aug. 2026

Definition of aging

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growing (in)

growing up

growl

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“Growing up.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/growing%20up. Accessed 16 Aug. 2026.

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Synonyms of growing up

verb

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