as in growing
to become mature
everyone has to grow up at some point in their lives
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Recent Examples of growing up
How a childhood experience shaped Lucas' views As a child growing up in Ohio, Lucas experienced a series of events that would shape her views on employment and civil rights.
—
Andrea Hsu, NPR, 31 Mar. 2026
Those back-in-my-day clichés about growing up in midcentury America — walking a mile to school, working a paper route, playing outside until the streetlights clicked on — paint a fairly accurate picture of a kind of American childhood that’s all but vanished.
—Stephen Johnson, Big Think, 31 Mar. 2026
Miley Cyrus and Emily Osment are in this curious predicament, as the two actresses played BFFs growing up in the Disney hit Hannah Montana.
—Lizzie Lanuza, StyleCaster, 24 Mar. 2026
Blume made growing up less alienating for her readers, but there were limits to her project of destigmatization.
—Katy Waldman, New Yorker, 18 Mar. 2026
Inspired by the two authors' real-life childhood diaries, the show explores every stage of womanhood from growing up to getting older and laughing all the way.
—Jennifer McRae, CBS News, 17 Mar. 2026
Blume’s candid stories about puberty and adolescence continue to resonate with readers decades after publication, offering relatable insight into growing up.
—Whitney Friedlander, Los Angeles Times, 10 Mar. 2026
But, pulling from his own experience growing up at a well-to-do London school, Froushan tapped into that same sense of wanting to be like everyone else.
—Lily Ford, HollywoodReporter, 10 Mar. 2026
Duff sat down with Fallon to discuss the album and her tour, as well as growing up as Lizzie Maguire.
—Emily Zemler, Rolling Stone, 10 Mar. 2026
Andrea Hsu, NPR, 31 Mar. 2026
Those back-in-my-day clichés about growing up in midcentury America — walking a mile to school, working a paper route, playing outside until the streetlights clicked on — paint a fairly accurate picture of a kind of American childhood that’s all but vanished.
—Stephen Johnson, Big Think, 31 Mar. 2026
Miley Cyrus and Emily Osment are in this curious predicament, as the two actresses played BFFs growing up in the Disney hit Hannah Montana.
—Lizzie Lanuza, StyleCaster, 24 Mar. 2026
Blume made growing up less alienating for her readers, but there were limits to her project of destigmatization.
—Katy Waldman, New Yorker, 18 Mar. 2026
Inspired by the two authors' real-life childhood diaries, the show explores every stage of womanhood from growing up to getting older and laughing all the way.
—Jennifer McRae, CBS News, 17 Mar. 2026
Blume’s candid stories about puberty and adolescence continue to resonate with readers decades after publication, offering relatable insight into growing up.
—Whitney Friedlander, Los Angeles Times, 10 Mar. 2026
But, pulling from his own experience growing up at a well-to-do London school, Froushan tapped into that same sense of wanting to be like everyone else.
—Lily Ford, HollywoodReporter, 10 Mar. 2026
Duff sat down with Fallon to discuss the album and her tour, as well as growing up as Lizzie Maguire.
—Emily Zemler, Rolling Stone, 10 Mar. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for growing up
Verb
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The rooms With curvaceous walls, built in fast-growing Indonesian bamboo, split-level villas with a spiral staircase that winds seashell-like between a ground-floor lounge and upstairs living quarters have the grounding feel of being wrapped in a tropical bamboo forest.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
31 Mar. 2026
-
Saronic, which ranked 19th on the latest CNBC Disruptor 50 list, is among a growing crop of defense companies winning over the government with the support of venture capital.—
Samantha Subin,
CNBC,
31 Mar. 2026
Verb
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After birth, human beings undergo infant and toddler development, moving on to child development before progressing to puberty and adolescence on the way to adulthood.—
Encyclopedia Britannica,
Encyclopedia Britannica,
2 Apr. 2026
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The Times analysis showed that both communities were still progressing well behind the pace of Santa Rosa after the 2017 Tubbs fire, with about half as many permits issued in the Palisades as a percentage of those burned and two-thirds in Altadena in the same period.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
1 Apr. 2026
Verb
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His reelection in 2025 sparked widespread protests that left at least four people dead, signaling growing tensions between the mostly young population and its aging leader.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
5 Apr. 2026
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About two-thirds of the nation’s estimated $7 trillion in annual spending covers the Medicare and Medicaid health care programs, as well as Social Security income, which are essentially growing — along with an aging population — on autopilot.—
Lisa Mascaro,
Fortune,
4 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Growing up.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/growing%20up. Accessed 6 Apr. 2026.
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