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
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Noun
Madagascar as Ground Zero Climate change is to blame for the scarcity of food and resources in Madagascar, which is causing a mental health crisis among adolescents. Stephanie Edwards, Discover Magazine, 19 Mar. 2025 The adolescent survived the harrowing ordeal with minor injuries — a better outcome than that of another 13-year-old boy who was listed in critical condition after falling from a Queens train on Friday, officials said. Thomas Tracy, New York Daily News, 18 Mar. 2025
Adjective
Disturbing New Details Emerge About the State of the Global Climate Chronic Climate Stressors Hadfield and her team identified three main ways that climate change affected adolescent mental health. Stephanie Edwards, Discover Magazine, 19 Mar. 2025 The low-scoring adolescent may not have enjoyed those same advantages and may have experienced stress due to poverty. Dalton Conley, TIME, 19 Mar. 2025 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

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Cite this Entry

“Adolescent.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/adolescent. Accessed 2 Apr. 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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