adolescence
/ˌædəˈlɛsəns/ noun
Forms adolescences
- noun The transitional period of physical and psychological development between childhood and maturity, beginning at the onset of puberty and with an endpoint defined either legally (at the age of majority, such as 18 in many jurisdictions) or psychocognitively (at various ages, depending on individual experience). “During adolescence, the body and mind go through many complex changes, some of which are difficult to deal with.”
Synonyms
hog age teenagehood teenhood teenagerhood teenagedom teenagerdom teendom
Etymology
From Middle English adolescence, from Old French adolescence, from Latin adolēscentia, from adolēscēns (“young”); see adolescent.
Webster’s 1913
- noun The state of growing up from childhood to manhood or womanhood; youth, or the period of life between puberty and maturity, generally considered to be, in the male sex, from fourteen to twenty-one. Sometimes used with reference to the lower animals.
Etymology [Fr., fr. L. adolescentia.]
Sources: Wiktionary · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “adolescence”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details