What does "adolescent" mean?

1. (relating to adolescence) relating to the time in life when you are growing into an adult. 2. (immature) acting in a way that is silly or not mature, like a teenager.

adolescent

adj.

US //ˌædəˈɫɛsənt// UK //ˌædəlˈɛsənt// ado·les·cent

1 relating to adolescence (adj.)
B2 Upper Intermediate

relating to the time in life when you are growing into an adult.

pertaining to the period of adolescence or characteristic of a person in that stage.

Example

The school offers special programs to help with adolescent mental health.

Example

The study focuses on adolescent brain development and how it influences risk-taking behavior during the high school years.
- mature
- adult
2 immature (adj.)
C1 Advanced Formal

acting in a way that is silly or not mature, like a teenager.

displaying a lack of maturity or sophistication; often used pejoratively to describe adult behavior.

Example

The two grown men were having an adolescent argument about a video game.

Example

The critic dismissed the film's humor as adolescent, noting that it relied heavily on cheap gags rather than clever writing.
- immature
- puerile
- childish
- mature
- sophisticated

Origin

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.