adult
See also: adùlt
EnglishEdit
EtymologyEdit
From French adulte, from Latin adultus (“grown up”), perfect passive participle of adolescō (“I grow up”). Compare adolescent.
PronunciationEdit
- (Received Pronunciation, General Australian, Canada) IPA(key): /ˈæd.ʌlt/, /ˈæd.əlt/
Audio (UK) (file)
- (US, Canada) IPA(key): /əˈdʌlt/, /ˈæd.əlt/
- Rhymes: -ʌlt
NounEdit
adult (plural adults)
- A fully grown human or animal.
- 1840, Georges Cuvier, Edward Blyth, Robert Mudie, George Johnston, and 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
- A person who has reached the legal age of majority.
SynonymsEdit
- (fully grown human or animal): grown up; see also Thesaurus:adult
TranslationsEdit
fully grown human
|
AdjectiveEdit
adult (comparative more adult, superlative most adult)
- 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.
- 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.
- Containing situations or discussions intended primarily for adults, such as serious crime, illicit drug use, extramarital affairs, etc.
- adult situations; adult discussions
- (of a beverage) Containing alcohol, intended for consumption only by adults.
- an adult drink; an adult root beer float
- (of a cookie, gummy, etc.) Containing marijuana, intended for consumption only by adults.
- an adult cookie; adult gummy worms
- Containing material of an explicit sexual nature; of, or pertaining to, pornography.
- an adult movie
- This program contains adult content. Parental discretion is advised.
- Containing excessive vulgar or profane speech, text or images, intended only for adults.
- adult language; an adult cartoon
SynonymsEdit
- (fully grown): big, fully grown, grown up; see also Thesaurus:full-grown
- (intended for adults): grown up; see also Thesaurus:adultlike or Thesaurus:for adults
- (containing explicit sexual material): pornographic, X-rated, XXX, XXXX; see also Thesaurus:pornographic
- (vulgar): blue, indecent, obscene, salacious; see also Thesaurus:obscene
Derived termsEdit
terms derived from the adjective and noun
- adult actress
- adult baby
- adult beverage
- adult bookstore
- adult contemporary
- adult content
- adult diaper
- adult film
- adult learner
- adult material
- adult movie
- adult shop
- adult star
- adult survivor
- adult third culture kid
- adultly
- adultness
- appropriate adult
- consenting adult
- new adult
- older adult
- young adult
Related termsEdit
TranslationsEdit
fully grown
|
intended for adults
|
euphemistic: pornographic
VerbEdit
adult (third-person singular simple present adults, present participle adulting, simple past and past participle adulted)
- (intransitive, informal) To behave like an adult.
- (nonstandard, rare) To (cause to) be or become an adult.
- 1974, Occasional Papers (Syracuse University), issues 42-46, 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.
- 1974, Occasional Papers (Syracuse University), issues 42-46, page 5:
Further readingEdit
- adult in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
- adult in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911
AnagramsEdit
CatalanEdit
EtymologyEdit
PronunciationEdit
AdjectiveEdit
adult (feminine adulta, masculine plural adults, feminine plural adultes)
- adult (fully grown)
Derived termsEdit
NounEdit
adult m (plural adults, feminine adulta)
- adult (fully grown person)
Further readingEdit
- “adult” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
GermanEdit
PronunciationEdit
Audio (file)
AdjectiveEdit
adult (strong nominative masculine singular adulter, not comparable)
- (medicine) adult
DeclensionEdit
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 alsoEdit
RomanianEdit
EtymologyEdit
Borrowed from French adulte, from Latin adultus (“grown up”).
PronunciationEdit
AdjectiveEdit
adult m or n (feminine singular adultă, masculine plural adulți, feminine and neuter plural adulte)
DeclensionEdit
Declension of adult
NounEdit
adult m (plural adulți, feminine equivalent adultă)