adolescent
noun
ad·o·les·cent
| \ ˌa-də-ˈle-sᵊnt
\
\
Definition of adolescent
(Entry 1 of 2)
: a young person who is developing into an adult : one who is in the state of adolescence
adolescent
adjectiveDefinition of adolescent (Entry 2 of 2)
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
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Synonyms & Antonyms for adolescent
Synonyms: Adjective
immature, juvenile, young, youngish, youthful
Antonyms: Adjective
adult, grown-up, mature, matured
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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: Noun
Lawmakers around the world must take action to combat the root causes of violence and poverty pushing children and adolescents to flee. — Halima Aden, Glamour, "For Model Halima Aden, World Humanitarian Day Is Personal," 19 Aug. 2019 Just last month, research out of Canada showed that higher levels of social media use was linked with increased depressive symptoms in adolescents. — Leah Asmelash, CNN, "Social media use may harm teens' mental health by disrupting positive activities, study says," 13 Aug. 2019 Your Kid’s Urgent Care is described as an after-hours clinic providing care to infants, children and adolescents. — William Thornton | Wthornton@al.com, al, "Florida-based urgent care chain coming to Birmingham area," 6 Aug. 2019 Elsewhere, children and adolescents look at once entirely at home and like a breed apart, a community within the community. — Brian Dillon, The New Yorker, "After the Brexit Vote, Mark Neville Looks at Life in “Little Britain”," 27 July 2019 Sleep talking is very common in children and adolescents. — Meghan Overdeep, Southern Living, "This Is When Talking in Your Sleep Could Be Cause for Worry," 17 July 2019 Some of the early concerns about the internet’s impact on children and adolescents were legitimate. — Kate Eichhorn, WIRED, "Social Media Could Make It Impossible to Grow Up," 8 July 2019 Some experts advocate for diagnosing BPD in adolescents while others prefer to wait until adulthood. — Carolyn L. Todd, SELF, "13 Facts Everyone Should Know About Borderline Personality Disorder," 5 Dec. 2018 Vidyadhar Upasani, a pediatric orthopedist at Rady Children’s Hospital in San Diego, uses 3-D printing to help plan intricate bone procedures to treat, for example, slipped capital femoral epiphysis, the most common hip disorder in adolescents. — Erin Blakemore, Washington Post, "Surgeons are using 3-D-printed organs to figure out the best way to operate," 11 June 2018Recent Examples on the Web: Adjective
The school of profitable rhymes As an adolescent obsessed with rap music, Trajik befriended record store clerks who sold albums to him before their official release dates. — David Lindquist, Indianapolis Star, "He's taking the stairs, not the elevator, but Indianapolis rapper Trajik just keeps rising," 22 Aug. 2019 Its young-adolescent characters are all played by adult actors. — San Diego Union-Tribune, "San Diego premiere of Clare Barron’s ‘Dance Nation’ launches Moxie Theatre’s 15th-anniversary season," 21 Aug. 2019 So the series begins with them, dropping in on their young adolescent lives in Harlem. — Los Angeles Times, "Ava DuVernay looks for joy in every project. She even found it in ‘When They See Us’," 19 Aug. 2019 Visitors can even ride atop an adolescent T. rex and spinosaurus, and younger dino-philes can pet and hold a baby triceratops and a camarasaurus. — Phillip Valys, sun-sentinel.com, "Jurassic Quest: 80 life-size dinosaurs stampeding into West Palm Beach this weekend," 13 Aug. 2019 Cognitive psychologist Jessica Schleider of Stony Brook University studies the effectiveness of brief interventions in treating adolescent depression and anxiety. — Lydia Denworth, Scientific American, "Debate Arises over Teaching “Growth Mindsets” to Motivate Students," 12 Aug. 2019 Parents can begin good organization habits with preschool-age children, said Elana Spira, Ph.D., a clinical assistant professor in the child and adolescent psychiatry department at Hassenfeld Children's Hospital at NYU Langone. — Elissa Strauss, CNN, "Getting your kids organized for the new school year," 10 Aug. 2019 The provocative series, which ends its season one Sunday, has received rave reviews for its unwavering portrayals of adolescent drug abuse, sexuality, and body image. — Christopher Rosa, Glamour, "Barbie Ferreira Is Ready for More ‘Hot and Secure’ Fat Girls on TV," 4 Aug. 2019 Jennifer Dietrich, chief of pediatric and adolescent gynecology at Texas Children’s Hospital. — Beth Krietsch, Good Housekeeping, "The Best Way to Educate Your Daughter About Contraception, According to Experts," 2 Aug. 2019These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'adolescent.' 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 adolescent
adolescent
noun
ad·o·les·cent
| \ ˌa-də-ˈle-sᵊnt
\
\
Kids Definition of adolescent
: a person who is no longer a child but not yet an adult
adolescent
noun
ad·o·les·cent
| \ -ᵊnt
\
\
Medical Definition of adolescent
(Entry 1 of 2)
: one that is in the state of adolescence
adolescent
adjectiveMedical Definition of adolescent (Entry 2 of 2)
: of, relating to, or being in adolescence