adultify

A1D2U1L1T1I1F4Y4

verb

To treat a non-adult like an adult.

Opposite
infantilize
Scrabble 15
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Meanings

verbadultify (third-person singular simple present adultifies, present participle adultifying, simple past and past participle adultified)

present singular third person adultifies · participle present adultifying · participle past adultified · past adultified

  1. To treat a non-adult like an adult.

    Neil Postman argued for The Disappearance of Childhood in 1982, maintaining that television prematurely adultifies children by confronting them with crime and violence and other adult topics.

    2014, Anita Wohlmann, Aged Young Adults: Age Readings of Contemporary American Novels and Films

    Antonyms: infantilize

Synonyms & antonyms

verbTo treat a non-adult like an adult.

Opposite
infantilize

Origin

From adult + -ify, likely a back-formation from adultification.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

adultify. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/adultify

MLA

“adultify.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/adultify. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “adultify,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/adultify.

Source: adultify on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.