Dictionary

adolescent en · ADJ

Pronunciation

• ăd'əlĕsʹənt
• /ˌæd.əˈlɛs.ənt/
• (Southern-England) audio

Etymology

First attested ?1440, from Middle English adolescent, from Middle French adolescent or directly from Latin adolescentem, accusative form of adolescens, present participle of adolēscere (“to become adult, grow up”), from ad- (“to”) + alēscere (“to grow or become nourished”). The adjective first appeared in 1785.

Meanings

1. Of, relating to, or at the age of adolescence; at the stage between being a child and an adult.
   • Schools, unless discipline were doubly strong, / Detain their adolescent charge too long. 1785, William Cowper, Tirocinium:
   • Again, voice change is not easy and vulnerability plays a big part, but if choral teachers and adolescent singers approach it with the right mindframe, the experience can be empowering, enlightening, and restorative for all involved. 2019, Bridget Sweet, Thinking Outside the Voice Box, page 71:

Forms

Deriveds

middlescent · postadolescent · periadolescent · preadolescent · adolescently · adultescent · nonadolescent · subadolescent · mid-adolescent

Relateds

adult · adolescence

Translations (34)

hu kamasz (characteristic of adolescence) · ro adolescent (characteristic of adolescence) · pl nastoletni (characteristic of adolescence) · te కౌమార (characteristic of adolescence) · gl adolescente (characteristic of adolescence) · de jung (characteristic of adolescence) · rgn adulescént (characteristic of adolescence) · ca adolescent (characteristic of adolescence) · es adolescente (characteristic of adolescence) · sl mladoleten (characteristic of adolescence) · ja 思春期の (characteristic of adolescence) · pl dojrzewający (characteristic of adolescence) · fr adolescent (characteristic of adolescence) · hi किशोर (characteristic of adolescence) · io adolecanta (characteristic of adolescence) · gd ògail (characteristic of adolescence) · ru подростко́вый (characteristic of adolescence) · bg юношески (characteristic of adolescence) · it adolescente (characteristic of adolescence) · pl adolescencyjny (characteristic of adolescence) · hi किशोरी (characteristic of adolescence) · hu kamaszkori (characteristic of adolescence) · pl młodociany (characteristic of adolescence) · fi nuori (characteristic of adolescence) · eo adoleska (characteristic of adolescence) · mh boea (characteristic of adolescence) · el έφηβος (characteristic of adolescence) · de heranwachsend (characteristic of adolescence) · de pubertär (characteristic of adolescence) · pt adolescente (characteristic of adolescence) · de adoleszent (characteristic of adolescence) · de jugendlich (characteristic of adolescence) · ru ю́ношеский (characteristic of adolescence) · ast adolescente (characteristic of adolescence)

adolescent en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• ăd'əlĕsʹənt
• /ˌæd.əˈlɛs.ənt/
• (Southern-England) audio

Etymology

First attested ?1440, from Middle English adolescent, from Middle French adolescent or directly from Latin adolescentem, accusative form of adolescens, present participle of adolēscere (“to become adult, grow up”), from ad- (“to”) + alēscere (“to grow or become nourished”). The adjective first appeared in 1785.

Meanings

1. A person who is in adolescence; someone who has reached puberty but is not yet an adult.
   • Besides, there are a great many of these accusers, and they have been accusing me now for a great many years; and what is more, they approached you at the most impressionable age, when some of you were children or adolescents; and they literally won their case by default, because there was no one to defend me. 1954, Plato, translated by Hugh Tredennick, “Socrates on Trial: The Apology”, in The Last Days of Socrates (Penguin Classics), Harmondsworth, Middlesex: Penguin Books, →OCLC, page 20:
   • ‘A healthy adolescent might be expected to produce five hundred billion blood cells a day.’ 2014, Ian McEwan, The Children Act, Penguin Random House (2018), page 66:
   • It may be wartime, but Miss Adolescent wants her fun! 1944, Noel Streatfeild, Theatre Shoes:

Forms

Translations (79)

cs puberťák (a teenager) · et noor (a teenager) · mh boea (a teenager) · gl moza (a teenager) · fi nuori (a teenager) · es chico (a teenager) · cs dospívající (a teenager) · hi किशोर (a teenager) · sl mladoletnik (a teenager) · pl nastolatek (a teenager) · cmn 姑娘 (a teenager) · pt moça (a teenager) · gl rapazola (a teenager) · mk малоле́тник (a teenager) · ota اوغلان (a teenager) · he נַעַר (a teenager) · eo adoleskulo (a teenager) · tr ergen (a teenager) · cmn 少年 (a teenager) · gl mozo (a teenager) · pt moço (a teenager) · ota شاب (a teenager) · ota اوشاق (a teenager) · gl rapazolo (a teenager) · hu kamasz (a teenager) · es chica (a teenager) · pl nastolatka (a teenager) · es muchacho (a teenager) · ms remaja (a teenager) · ar فَتَاة (a teenager) · cs adolescent (a teenager) · ar فَتًى (a teenager) · ja 少女 (a teenager) · io adolecanto (a teenager) · tyz léo (a teenager) · la adulēscēns (a teenager) · bg по́лово съзря́ващ (a teenager) · sh adolèscent (a teenager) · gd òigear (a teenager) · ko 10대 (a teenager) · ba үҫмер (a teenager) · gl rapaza (a teenager) · ru де́вушка (a teenager) · es adolescente (a teenager) · hy պատանի (a teenager) · gl rapaz (a teenager) · sv tonåring (a teenager) · be падле́так (a teenager) · ja 青春 (a teenager) · ja 少年 (a teenager) · gl rapariga (a teenager) · pt rapaz (a teenager) · pt adolescente (a teenager) · gl adolescente (a teenager) · mk малолетничка (a teenager) · ko 청소년 (a teenager) · et teismeline (a teenager) · bg девойка (a teenager) · ca adolescent (a teenager) · it adolescente (a teenager) · fa برنا (a teenager) · gd òganach (a teenager) · pl adolescent (a teenager) · sl mladoletnica (a teenager) · az yeniyetmə (a teenager) · es muchacha (a teenager) · bg юноша (a teenager) · cmn 青少年 (a teenager) · de Jugendliche (a teenager) · hi किशोरी (a teenager) · ro adolescent (a teenager) · mk младинец (a teenager) · eo adoleskanto (a teenager) · ru подро́сток (a teenager) · he מִתְבַּגֵּר (a teenager) · pt rapariga (a teenager) · uk підлі́ток (a teenager) · ro adolescentă (a teenager) · ru ю́ноша (a teenager)