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adult

Pronunciation: /ˈæd.ʌlt/

The English word “adult” has 12 meanings listed here.

noun

  1. An animal that is full-grown.
  2. A person who has reached the legal age of majority.

adjective

  1. Fully grown.
  2. Intended for or restricted to adults rather than children due to size, maturity, knowledge level, judgement, etc.
  3. Containing situations or discussions intended primarily for adults, such as serious crime, illicit drug use, extramarital affairs, etc.
  4. Containing alcohol, intended for consumption only by adults.
  5. Containing marijuana, intended for consumption only by adults.
  6. Containing material of an explicit sexual nature; pornographic.
  7. Containing excessive vulgar or profane speech, text or images, intended only for adults.
  8. Intended for, or restricted to, those who are not young children.

verb

  1. To behave like an adult.
  2. To (cause to) be or become an adult.

Etymology

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

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Definitions are from Wiktionary, extracted by Kaikki.org, and are available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.