# adolescent

/ˌædəˈɫɛsənt/ (US) · /ˌædəlˈɛsənt/ (UK)

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/adolescent
Updated: 2026-06-20

## Senses

### 2. relating to adolescence

adjective · CEFR B2

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

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

- The school offers special programs to help with adolescent mental health.
- The study focuses on adolescent brain development and how it influences risk-taking behavior during the high school years.

### 3. immature

adjective · CEFR C1 · Formal

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

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

- The two grown men were having an adolescent argument about a video game.
- The critic dismissed the film's humor as adolescent, noting that it relied heavily on cheap gags rather than clever writing.

## Examples

- The program helps every adolescent in the community find a summer job.
- Researchers studied how the brain of a typical adolescent responds to social rewards compared to that of an adult.
- While the law treats them as minors, many an adolescent possesses the cognitive capacity to make complex decisions regarding their own education and future career path.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.