as in grown-up
a fully grown person
at the beach, the adults sat under broad umbrellas while the children splashed in the water
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
2
as in pornographic
dealing in or with explicitly sexual material
an adult magazine
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in matured
fully grown or developed
insects that are butterflies in their adult stage
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of adult
Joshua Rothman, New Yorker, 17 June 2025
What the poll found The poll, which sampled 3,341 U.S. adults on June 16, found more Americans were in favor of the protests than opposed them.
—Brendan Rascius, Miami Herald, 16 June 2025
Tara Duggan, San Francisco Chronicle, 6 Mar. 2023
The first whale found this month, a sub-adult male gray whale, was recovered Jan. 11 in Winchester Bay and was slain by killer whales, according to Milstein.
—oregonlive, 24 Jan. 2023
See All Example Sentences for adult
Noun
In 2023, the National Endowment for the Arts reported that, over the preceding decade, the proportion of adults who read at least one book a year had fallen from fifty-five per cent to forty-eight per cent.
—Joshua Rothman, New Yorker, 17 June 2025
What the poll found The poll, which sampled 3,341 U.S. adults on June 16, found more Americans were in favor of the protests than opposed them.
—Brendan Rascius, Miami Herald, 16 June 2025
Adjective
There has not been a sighting of a calf since 2005, though juvenile and sub-adult whales have been seen more recently, Crance said.
—Tara Duggan, San Francisco Chronicle, 6 Mar. 2023
The first whale found this month, a sub-adult male gray whale, was recovered Jan. 11 in Winchester Bay and was slain by killer whales, according to Milstein.
—oregonlive, 24 Jan. 2023
See All Example Sentences for adult
Recent Examples of Synonyms for adult
Adjective
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Indeed, devoted fans of the Murphy movies — especially the more, ahem, mature viewers — likely will be willing to overlook some of the messy violence and salty language to relish this trip in the wayback machine.—
Joe Leydon,
Variety,
13 June 2025
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Once the potato plant tops start dying back, dig and lift the entire plant with a garden fork to harvest the mature potatoes.—
Sheryl Geerts,
Better Homes & Gardens,
13 June 2025
Noun
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These cranes are known for their resilience and strong familial bonds, often migrating in flocks that include young birds guided by their experienced elders.—
Scott Travers,
Forbes.com,
14 June 2025
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Most prominently, after a shocking murder devastates Jackson, the town elders convene a community-wide meeting to debate whether or not to dispatch a team to avenge his death.—
Michael M. Rosen,
The Washington Examiner,
30 May 2025
Adjective
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On Wednesday, attendees — who were paired up four times throughout the evening — followed conversation prompts that included offering compliments or revealing details about their erotic selves.—
Deborah Vankin,
Los Angeles Times,
9 June 2025
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For example, Nicole Kidman’s erotic thriller Babygirl opened in theaters on Dec. 25, 2024, and debuted on PVOD just over a month later on Jan. 28.—
Tim Lammers,
Forbes.com,
1 June 2025
Adjective
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However, the researchers note that this avenue—avocados and sleep—is ripe for future exploration.—
Melissa Fleur Afshar,
MSNBC Newsweek,
12 June 2025
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Yet most dashboards still focus only on the bottom of the funnel, measuring the five percent of buyers ready to purchase now and ignoring the 95 percent of the market who are ripe for conversion tomorrow.—
Alexander Puutio,
Forbes.com,
11 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Adult.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/adult. Accessed 20 Jun. 2025.
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