adolescent

USad-uh-LES-uhnt/ˌædəˈlɛsənt/

2 meanings of adolescent

1
nouncountable
A young person who is no longer a child but is not yet an adult.
My cousin is an adolescent now, so he wants more privacy at home.
Many adolescents feel nervous on their first day of high school.
Similarteenager, teen, youth, juvenile
Oppositeadult
2
adjective
Belonging to the time of life between being a child and being an adult.
She wrote a funny book about her adolescent years.
His adolescent moods made family dinners hard sometimes.
Similarteenage, juvenile, youthful, pubescent
Oppositeadult

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Origin

From Latin adolescens, meaning "growing up," which comes from a verb meaning "to become adult, grow up." It reached English through Middle and Old French.