adolescence
noun
ad·o·les·cence
| \ ˌa-də-ˈle-sᵊn(t)s
\
\
Definition of adolescence
1
: the period of life when a child develops into an adult : the period from puberty to maturity terminating legally at the age of majority (see majority sense 2a)
He struggled through his adolescence.
2
: the state or process of growing up
3
: a stage of development (as of a language or culture) prior to maturity
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Examples of adolescence in a Sentence
Their children are on the verge of adolescence.
He struggled through his adolescence.
Recent Examples on the Web
The answer might reasonably be expected to vary throughout adolescence, depending on whether a girl was just dumped by a boy or tripped in the hall. — Abigail Shrier, WSJ, "The Transgender Language War," 29 Aug. 2018 Spending most of her time with women and girls, Mead concluded that Samoan adolescence was less fraught, in part because sexuality in general was less fraught. — Patrick Iber, The New Republic, "Pioneers of Cultural Relativism," 14 Aug. 2019 In many cultures, fifteen signifies the end of adolescence, when innocence is traded for a new level of respect and trust from your peers. — Brittany Gaston, Billboard, "15 Years In, Tomorrowland Is a Spectacle of Both Massive Size and Thoughtful Detail," 23 July 2019 Charlamagne is forthright about his wayward adolescence, which included periods of drug-dealing and several jail stints. — Washington Post, "How ‘The Breakfast Club,’ home to brash hosts and irate rappers, became a one-of-a-kind campaign stop," 17 July 2019 But over all, adolescence is safer than it’s ever been. — New York Times, "The ‘Euphoria’ Teenagers Are Wild. But Most Real Teenagers Are Tame.," 23 June 2019 Sometime during Leonardo’s adolescence, his father likely recognized his artistic abilities and showed his drawings to a client, the artist Andrea del Verrocchio, who agreed to take Leonardo on as an apprentice in his Florence workshop. — Claudia Kalb, National Geographic, "Why Leonardo da Vinci’s brilliance endures, 500 years after his death," 12 June 2019 Apart from the universal awkwardness of adolescence, the director wanted to dive into what is inherently unique about coming of age in a time when iPhones and Instagram are ubiquitous. — Mia Galuppo, The Hollywood Reporter, "How Bo Burnham Went From YouTube to Stand-Up to Directorial Breakout 'Eighth Grade'," 26 June 2018 Not surprisingly, Gold’s adolescence was anything but normal. — Alexis Burling, SFChronicle.com, "‘I Will Be Complete,’ by Glen David Gold," 21 June 2018These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'adolescence.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for adolescence
adolescence
noun
ad·o·les·cence
| \ ˌa-də-ˈle-sᵊns
\
\
Kids Definition of adolescence
: the period of life between childhood and adulthood
adolescence
noun
ad·o·les·cence
| \ ˌad-ᵊl-ˈes-ᵊn(t)s
\
\
Medical Definition of adolescence
1
: the state or process of growing up
2
: the period of life from puberty to maturity terminating legally at the age of majority
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