adolescent

/ˌæd.əˈlɛs.ənt/

//ˌæd.əˈlɛs.ənt// adj

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"adolescent" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“adolescent” has 15 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #13,277. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#13,277
frequency rank, English
3,931
“A” headwords
15
tracked misspellings
1
confusable pair

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Of, relating to, or at the age of adolescence; at the stage between being a child and an adult.

Corpus desk

Index EN-adolescent · adolescent · English

adolescent · rank #13,277 · 15 variants · 1 confusable

  • FREQ-MID #13,277
  • LEN-MEGA 10 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 1 pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 15 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,931
  • PHOTO-FINISH abdominal

Nearest frequency peer: abdominal (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “adolescent”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “adolescent” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

adolescent vs adolescence
82% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for adolescent
PropertyValue
Headwordadolescent
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/ˌæd.əˈlɛs.ənt/
Letters10
Frequency rank#13,277
Misspellings tracked15
Confusable pairs1
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “adolescent”

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).adolescentlands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “abdominal” (#13,276), “Zurich” (#13,275), “airing” (#13,279). Among 3,931 “A” headwords, “adolescent” is #13,277. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 15 spelling variants around adolescent (IPA /ˌæd.əˈlɛs.ənt/), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #13,277 among 3,931 “A” headwords. Dominant gloss: "Of, relating to, or at the age of adolescence; at the stage between being a child and an adult.".

Our generated misspelling index lists 15 likely wrong-spelling variants for adolescent, with forms such as "addolescent", "adloescent", and "adoelscent". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 1 confusable-pair relationship, "adolescence", where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: First attested ?1440, from Middle English adolescent, from Middle French adolescent or directly from Latin adolescentem, accusative form of adolescens, present participle of adolēscere (“to become adult, grow up”), from ad- (“to”) + alēscere (“to grow or be… The correct English form is adolescent, spelled A-D-O-L-E-S-C-E-N-T.

Definition

  1. 1
    Of, relating to, or at the age of adolescence; at the stage between being a child and an adult.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how adolescent appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Schools, unless discipline were doubly strong, / Detain their adolescent charge too long.
  2. Again, voice change is not easy and vulnerability plays a big part, but if choral teachers and adolescent singers approach it with the right mindframe, the experience can be empowering, enlightening, and restorative for all involved.

Etymology

First attested ?1440, from Middle English adolescent, from Middle French adolescent or directly from Latin adolescentem, accusative form of adolescens, present participle of adolēscere (“to become adult, grow up”), from ad- (“to”) + alēscere (“to grow or become nourished”). The adjective first appeared in 1785.

This word in other languages

adolescente(Español)adolescent(Français)heranwachsend(Deutsch)adolescente(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • addolescent
  • adloescent
  • adoelscent
  • adolecsent
  • adolesccent
  • adolescennt
  • adolescentt
  • adolescetn
  • adolescnet
  • adolesecnt
  • adolesscent
  • adollescent
  • adolsecent
  • aodlescent
  • daolescent

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of adolescent - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

addolescent1adloescent2adoelscent2adolecsent2adolesccent1adolescennt1adolescentt1adolescetn2
Edit distance from "adolescent"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "adolescent"?
"adolescent" is spelled A-D-O-L-E-S-C-E-N-T. The IPA pronunciation is /ˌæd.əˈlɛs.ənt/.
What does "adolescent" mean?
As an adjective, "adolescent" means: Of, relating to, or at the age of adolescence; at the stage between being a child and an adult.
What words are commonly confused with "adolescent"?
"adolescent" is commonly confused with "adolescence". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "adolescent"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "adolescent" is /ˌæd.əˈlɛs.ənt/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "adolescent"?
First attested ?1440, from Middle English adolescent, from Middle French adolescent or directly from Latin adolescentem, accusative form of adolescens, present participle of adolēscere (“to become adult, grow up”), from ad- (“to”) + alēscere (“to ... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "adolescent", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 10 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

tendencies#13,254competence#13,307contacting#13,311contagious#13,312

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (15 here; floor ≥5).

vaccination15 variantsdiscounted15 variantspatriotism15 variantsinstallment15 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list