Adolescence Definition, Examples & Common Usage

Meaning 1：the teenage years (adolescence)

adolescence 🔊

/ˌæd.əˈles.əns/

The time when you change from being a child to being an adult, like between 13 and 19 years old. It's a period of physical and emotional growth.

Adolescence teenage years two teens chatting in school hallway

the teenage years 🔊

➕

/ðə ˈtiːneɪdʒ jɪrz/

A period of development between childhood and adulthood, typically marked by physical, emotional, and social changes.

📁 Category：Physical & Mental Health 🔖 Level：Intermediate

📘 Details & Usage

📖 Root Explanation

From Latin 'adolescere' meaning 'to grow up,' from ad- (to) + alescere (to grow).

💡 Mnemonic

Think of a teenager (ADO) who 'lescence' (sounds like 'less sense') acts impulsively while growing up.

📖 Example

During adolescence, her bedroom walls became a collage of posters, reflecting her growing interest in both music and science. 🔊 During adolescence, her bedroom walls became a collage of posters, reflecting her growing interest in both music and science.

🔗 Collocations

during adolescence – in the teenage years

early adolescence – the beginning of the teenage period

adolescence period – the time of life when one is a teenager

🔄 Synonyms

teenage years (n.) – the period of being a teenager

youth (n.) – the early part of life, especially before adulthood

puberty (n.) – the process of physical changes leading to sexual maturity

🚫 Antonyms

adulthood (n.) – the state of being fully grown or mature

maturity (n.) – the state of being fully developed physically or mentally

infancy (n.) – the early stage of life before childhood

🌱 Derivatives

adolescent (n./adj.) – a person in the stage of adolescence; relating to adolescence

adolescently (adv.) – in a way that is typical of an adolescent

adolesce (v.) – to undergo adolescence (rarely used)

📖 Cultural Story

The concept of adolescence as a distinct life stage was formalized by psychologist G. Stanley Hall in 1904, who described it as a period of 'storm and stress'.