adolescent
Adjective:
- Relating to the period of life between childhood and adulthood: Specifically, the stage of physical and psychological development that begins with puberty and ends with the attainment of adulthood.
- Characteristic of or suitable for a young person in this stage: Often implying behavior, attitudes, or problems typical of this age group.
- Immature or childish: Sometimes used to describe behavior, emotions, or ideas that are not fully mature, even in an adult.
Noun:
- A young person in the stage of adolescence: An individual who is undergoing the transition from childhood to adulthood, typically between the ages of about 13 and 19.
Adjective:
- Adolescent growth spurts can happen quickly. (The rapid physical growth characteristic of teenagers.)
- She still has an adolescent fascination with pop stars. (A fascination typical of a teenager, even if she is older.)
- His reaction was rather adolescent for a man of his age. (His reaction was immature.)
Noun:
- The program is designed for adolescents between 13 and 17. (Young people in that specific age range.)
- As an adolescent, he struggled with his identity. (When he was a teenager.)
"Adolescent" as a developmental category: In psychology and sociology, "adolescent" refers not just to an age but to a distinct phase with specific developmental tasks, such as forming an identity.
- The study focused on cognitive development in the *adolescent population.*
Used attributively to describe issues or phenomena: Commonly used before nouns to specify things related to this life stage.
- adolescent psychology, adolescent rebellion, adolescent literature.
Adolescence (n): The period of life itself, the state of being an adolescent.
- He went through a difficult *adolescence.*
Pre-adolescent (adj/n): Relating to or being in the period just before adolescence.
- Post-adolescent (adj): Relating to the period just after adolescence.
- Teenager (n): A more common, informal synonym for the noun, specifically for ages 13-19.
- Juvenile (adj/n): Can be synonymous but is often used in legal or formal contexts and can have a more negative connotation regarding immaturity.
- Youthful (adj): Emphasizes the qualities of being young, vigorous, or fresh, not necessarily the adolescent stage specifically.
- Adult (adj/n): Fully grown and mature.
- Mature (adj): Fully developed physically and mentally; having the emotional stability of an adult.
- Child (n): A young person before the age of puberty.
Adolescent angst: A common phrase describing the emotional turmoil, anxiety, and identity confusion often associated with adolescence.
- His poetry was full of typical *adolescent angst.*
Extended adolescence: A sociological term describing the phenomenon of young people delaying traditional adult roles (like career and family) into their late 20s.
- in the state of development between puberty and maturity
- adolescent boys and girls
- displaying or suggesting a lack of maturity
- adolescent insecurity
- jejune responses to our problems
- their behavior was juvenile
- puerile jokes
- being of the age 13 through 19
- teenage mothers
- the teen years
- relating to or peculiar to or suggestive of an adolescent
- adolescent problems
- a juvenile between the onset of puberty and maturity