adult

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See also: adùlt

English[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From French adulte, from Latin adultus (“grown up”), perfect passive participle of adolescō (“I grow up”). Compare adolescent.

Pronunciation[edit]

Noun[edit]

adult (plural adults)

  1. A fully grown human or animal.
    • 1840, Georges Cuvier, Edward Blyth, Robert Mudie, George Johnston, J.O. Westwood, “The fourth order of reptiles—The batrachians”, in Cuvier's Animal Kingdom‎[1], page 286:
      The young not only differs from the adult by the presence of its gills, but its feet are only developed by degrees, and in several genera there are also a deciduous beak and tail, and intestines of a different form
  2. A person who has reached the legal age of majority.

Synonyms[edit]

Translations[edit]

Adjective[edit]

adult (comparative more adult, superlative most adult)

  1. Fully grown.
    an adult human, animal, or plant
    • 1837, Michael Donovan, Domestic Economy: Human Food, Animal and Vegetable‎[2], page 86:
      The paws of the adult brown bear, and also their hams, especially when smoked, are considered a great delicacy.
  2. Intended for or restricted to adults rather than children due to size, maturity, knowledge level, judgement, etc.
    adult clothes; adult cereal; an adult documentary
    • 1973, Marshall Kaplan, Gans, and Kahn, Children and the urban environment (page 21)
      In May 1967 the WGBH Education Division submitted an initial proposal to HUD for a series of four adult television documentaries on conservation in an urban environment.
    1. Containing situations or discussions intended primarily for adults, such as serious crime, illicit drug use, extramarital affairs, etc.
      adult situations; adult discussions
    2. (of a beverage) Containing alcohol, intended for consumption only by adults.
      an adult drink; an adult root beer float
    3. (of a cookie, gummy, etc.) Containing marijuana, intended for consumption only by adults.
      an adult cookie; adult gummy worms
    4. Containing material of an explicit sexual nature; of, or pertaining to, pornography.
      an adult movie
      This program contains adult content. Parental discretion is advised.
    5. Containing excessive vulgar or profane speech, text or images, intended only for adults.
      adult language; an adult cartoon

Synonyms[edit]

Derived terms[edit]

terms derived from the adjective and noun

Related terms[edit]

Translations[edit]

Verb[edit]

adult (third-person singular simple present adults, present participle adulting, simple past and past participle adulted)

  1. (intransitive, informal) To behave like an adult.
  3. (nonstandard, rare) To (cause to) be or become an adult.
    • 1974, Occasional Papers, numbers 42-46, Syracuse University, page 5:
      Womanhood was achieved at twenty-one, when the female was "adulted"; manhood was fully achieved at twenty-five, […]
    • 2013, Ewa Rewers, The Contradictions of Urban Art, →ISBN, page 84:
      The process of adulting children […] overlaps with the process of the uncontrolled infiltration of the media […] into children’s imagination.
    • For more quotations using this term, see Citations:adult.

Further reading[edit]

Anagrams[edit]

Catalan[edit]

Etymology[edit]

Borrowed from Latin adultus.

Pronunciation[edit]

Adjective[edit]

adult (feminine adulta, masculine plural adults, feminine plural adultes)

  1. adult (fully grown)

Derived terms[edit]

Noun[edit]

adult m (plural adults, feminine adulta)

  1. adult (fully grown person)

Further reading[edit]

German[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

Adjective[edit]

adult (strong nominative masculine singular adulter, not comparable)

  1. (medicine) adult

Declension[edit]

Positive forms of adult (uncomparable)
number & gender singular plural
masculine feminine neuter
predicative er ist adult sie ist adult es ist adult sie sind adult
strong declension
(without article) 		nominative adulter adulte adultes adulte
genitive adulten adulter adulten adulter
dative adultem adulter adultem adulten
accusative adulten adulte adultes adulte
weak declension
(with definite article) 		nominative der adulte die adulte das adulte die adulten
genitive des adulten der adulten des adulten der adulten
dative dem adulten der adulten dem adulten den adulten
accusative den adulten die adulte das adulte die adulten
mixed declension
(with indefinite article) 		nominative ein adulter eine adulte ein adultes (keine) adulten
genitive eines adulten einer adulten eines adulten (keiner) adulten
dative einem adulten einer adulten einem adulten (keinen) adulten
accusative einen adulten eine adulte ein adultes (keine) adulten

See also[edit]

Romanian[edit]

Etymology[edit]

Borrowed from French adulte, from Latin adultus (“grown up”).

Pronunciation[edit]

Adjective[edit]

adult m or n (feminine singular adultă, masculine plural adulți, feminine and neuter plural adulte)

  1. adult

Declension[edit]

Declension of adult
singular plural
masculine neuter feminine masculine neuter feminine
nominative/
accusative 		indefinite adult adultă adulți adulte
definite adultul adulta adulții adultele
genitive/
dative 		indefinite adult adulte adulți adulte
definite adultului adultei adulților adultilor

Noun[edit]

adult m (plural adulți, feminine equivalent adultă)

  1. adult

Declension[edit]

Declension of adult
singular plural
indefinite articulation definite articulation indefinite articulation definite articulation
nominative/accusative (un) adult adultul (niște) adulți adulții
genitive/dative (unui) adult adultului (unor) adulți adulților
vocative adultule adulților
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