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
Noun
Last year, Woolf co-authored an editorial in the journal JAMA reflecting on the crisis of increasing mortality among children and adolescents in the US, a shift that started during the pandemic and threatens years of progress in reducing pediatric mortality rates. Deidre McPhillips, CNN, 21 Mar. 2024 According to the National Eating Disorders Association, 22% of children and adolescents around the world show symptoms of disordered eating, and eating disorders have the second-highest mortality rate of any mental illness. Hannah Dylan Pasternak, SELF, 18 Mar. 2024 And its focus on educating adolescents in schools reflects a larger trend of younger farmers addressing the topic of mental health head-on. Sophia Liang, The Courier-Journal, 27 Feb. 2024 For adolescents and young people, UNICEF has scaled up its UPSHIFT life skills development program, reaching thousands. Maryanne Murray Buechner, Forbes, 24 Feb. 2024 Buggs' research has examined anxiety and depression among youths who live in neighborhoods with gun violence — and notes that firearm suicide rates too have drastically increased among Black children and adolescents. Christine Spolar, NPR, 6 Mar. 2024 That attitude is more important than ever since the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) declared a national emergency in 2021 as mental health challenges among children and adolescents increased exponentially amid the COVID-19 pandemic.1 How can a positive attitude make a difference? Anna Halkidis, Parents, 5 Mar. 2024 The hold that phones have on adolescents in America today is well-documented, but teachers say parents are often not aware to what extent students use them inside the classroom. Jocelyn Gecker, The Christian Science Monitor, 27 Feb. 2024 Human embryos are not toddlers any more than toddlers are adolescents. The Editors, National Review, 23 Feb. 2024
Adjective
In mid-September, after her name had become widely known, Ford—along with her husband, Russell, and their two adolescent sons—had moved out of their house. Megan Garber, The Atlantic, 19 Mar. 2024 Approximately 25% of adolescent males are worried about not appearing muscular enough, according to a 2021 study published in the Journal of Adolescent Health. Audrey Richardson and Aurora Sousanis, Detroit Free Press, 17 Mar. 2024 Her wide-ranging subjects include opioids, tribes, reproductive rights, adolescent mental health and vaccine hesitancy. Jan Hoffman, New York Times, 11 Mar. 2024 After a few years, Edgar then teamed up with child and adolescent psychiatrist Matt Keener, MD, and relaunched the practice under its current name (Blackbird Health). Seth Joseph, Forbes, 21 Feb. 2024 And there will be several informational sessions to educate adults on topics like cyber crime and adolescent screen addiction. Rebecca Angel Baer, Southern Living, 8 Mar. 2024 Experts note that while adolescent girls work to relate to their changing, unfamiliar bodies, the rest of the world often sees physical maturation as a green light to treat a child like an adult woman. Alexa Lee, STAT, 7 Mar. 2024 The show stars Iain Armitage as the adolescent version of Parsons' Big Bang Theory protagonist, following his adventures as a child prodigy in '80s and '90s East Texas. Shania Russell, EW.com, 6 Mar. 2024 The toll of that adolescent gang-life was staggering. Scooty Nickerson, The Mercury News, 1 Mar. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'adolescent.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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 28 Mar. 2024.

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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