adolescent

[ ad-l-es-uhnt ]
/ ˌæd lˈɛs ənt /

adjective

growing to manhood or womanhood; youthful.
having the characteristics of adolescence or of an adolescent.

noun

an adolescent person.

Origin of adolescent

1475–85; < Latin adolēscent- (stem of adolēscēns growing up, present participle of adolēscere), equivalent to adol(ē)- (see adult) + -ēsc- -esce + -ent- -ent

OTHER WORDS FROM adolescent

ad·o·les·cent·ly, adverb post·ad·o·les·cent, adjective, noun sub·ad·o·les·cent, adjective, noun

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH adolescent

adolescence adolescents (see synonym study at adolescent)

Example sentences from the Web for adolescent

British Dictionary definitions for adolescent

adolescent
/ (ˌædəˈlɛsənt) /

adjective

of or relating to adolescence
informal behaving in an immature way; puerile

noun

an adolescent person

Medical definitions for adolescent

adolescent
[ ăd′l-ĕsənt ]

adj.

Of, relating to, or undergoing adolescence.

n.

A young person who has undergone puberty but who has not reached full maturity; a teenager.