🇬🇧 Adolescent meaning: English Vocabulary Flash Card

Adolescent (as an adjective) describes an adult or an adult’s behavior that is silly, immature, and a bit like a kid who hasn’t fully grown up yet. When a grown-up argues, pouts, giggles, or acts in a goofy, overdramatic way that you’d expect from a child or a teenager—not a responsible adult—you can call that behavior adolescent.

My aunt’s adolescent plan to slide down the staircase in a sleeping bag ended when she remembered her back is forty.

The principal’s adolescent attempt to dab while giving a speech caused three students to request counseling.

The chef’s adolescent food fight with himself left spaghetti on the ceiling and dignity on the floor.

The judge’s adolescent giggle every time someone said “duty” made the courtroom feel like fourth grade.

Some adults never outgrow adolescent behavior, which is why your teacher might still make dinosaur noises in the hallway just to feel powerful.

At the wedding, an adolescent uncle grabbed the cake, adolescent grin wide, adolescent laugh loud as he smeared icing on his face. Guests gasped; the adolescent uncle juggled plates like a child, then froze when the bride pointed. He blushed, adolescent mischief fading, and he wiped his face, then joined the quiet, sheepish applause.

This word is at the C2 level, which means it represents the highest mastery of English. It’s often used in specialized or highly formal contexts and helps you communicate with precision and subtlety, much like a native speaker.

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