As a noun, it means a young person who is no longer a child but not yet an adult, usually between about 12 and 18 years old. As an adjective, it describes things related to this stage of growing up.
From Latin *adolescens* meaning “growing up” or “maturing,” from *adolescere* “to grow up.” The root combines *ad-* “to” with *olescere* “to grow.”
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