adolescent

1 of 2

noun

ad·​o·​les·​cent ˌa-də-ˈle-sᵊnt How to pronounce adolescent (audio)
: a young person who is developing into an adult : one who is in the state of adolescence

adolescent

2 of 2

adjective

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
adolescently adverb

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
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.
Noun
The report found that 50 per 100,000 in adolescents assigned female at birth and 25 per 100,000 in adolescents assigned male at birth received hormones. Kiara Alfonseca, ABC News, 7 Jan. 2025 Advertisement Adding fluoride to community drinking water is credited with reducing the average number of teeth with cavities by 44% in adults and 58% in adolescents since the 1960s, the health service says. Karen Kaplan, Los Angeles Times, 6 Jan. 2025
Adjective
During the early years of the coronavirus pandemic, an expansion of the federal child tax credit led to dramatic reductions in adolescent poverty. Benjamin Oreskes, New York Times, 6 Jan. 2025 Center specialized in child and adolescent psychiatry after graduating from medical school. Duaa Eldeib, ProPublica, 30 Dec. 2024 See all Example Sentences for adolescent 

Word History

Etymology

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

First Known Use

Noun

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Adjective

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of adolescent was in the 15th century

Dictionary Entries Near adolescent

Cite this Entry

“Adolescent.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/adolescent. Accessed 18 Jan. 2025.

Medical Definition

adolescent

1 of 2 noun
ad·​o·​les·​cent -ᵊnt How to pronounce adolescent (audio)
: one that is in the state of adolescence

adolescent

2 of 2 adjective
: of, relating to, or being in adolescence
adolescently adverb

More from Merriam-Webster on adolescent

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