Meanings
comparative more pubescent · superlative most pubescent
- At or just after the age of puberty.
2008, Lou Schuler, "Foreward", in Nate Green, Built for Show, page xi […] the pubescent male brain isn't noted for its consistent engagement with reality […]
1 more example
The 18-year-old [Justin] Bieber can’t quite pull off the “adult” thing just yet: His voice may have dropped a bit since the days of “Baby,” but it still mostly registers as “angelic,” and veers toward a pubescent whine at times.
2012 June 26, Genevieve Koski, “Music: Reviews: Justin Bieber: Believe”, in The A.V. Club, archived from the original on 06 Aug 2020 - biologyCovered with down or fine hairs.
Synonyms & antonyms
adjective(of animals especially human beings) having arrived at the onset of puberty (the age at which sex glands become functional) but not yet fully mature
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Latinpubescens“to become hairy, downy, or an adult”
- Middle Frenchpubescent
- Englishpubescent
From Middle French pubescent, from Latin pubescens (“to become hairy, downy, or an adult”).
More words from Middle French, Latin
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Bulgarian полово съзряващ
- полово съзряващ (polovo săzrjavašt)arriving at puberty
Catalan púber, pubescent
- púberarriving at puberty
- pubescentarriving at puberty
Danish kønsmoden
- kønsmodenarriving at puberty
Dutch puberaal, puber
- puberaalarriving at puberty
- puberperson going through puberty
Finnish murrosikäinen, murrosikäinen
- murrosikäinenarriving at puberty
- murrosikäinenperson going through puberty
French pubère, pubescent
- pubèrearriving at puberty
- pubescentarriving at puberty
German geschlechtsreif, Pubertierender
- geschlechtsreifarriving at puberty
- Pubertierenderperson going through puberty
- Pubertierendeperson going through puberty
- Pubertierperson going through puberty
Greek έφηβος
- έφηβος (éfivos)person going through puberty
Polish pokwitaniowy, dojrzewający nastolatek
- pokwitaniowyarriving at puberty
- dojrzewający nastolatekperson going through puberty
- dojrzewająca nastolatkaperson going through puberty
Portuguese pubescente, púbere
- pubescentearriving at puberty
- púberearriving at puberty
Romanian pubescent, pubescent
- pubescentarriving at puberty
- pubescentperson going through puberty
Russian половозре́лый
- половозре́лый (polovozrélyj)arriving at puberty
Spanish pubescente
- pubescentearriving at puberty
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with pubescent
Cite this entry
pubescent. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pubescent
“pubescent.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pubescent. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “pubescent,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pubescent.
Source: pubescent on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.