The period of life beginning with puberty and ending with completed growth and physical maturity. [L. adolescentia]
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1) the state or process of growing up
2) the period of life from puberty to maturity terminating legally at the age of majority
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n.
the stage of development between childhood and adulthood. It begins with the start of puberty, which in girls is usually at the age of about 12 and in boys about 14.
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ad·o·les·cence (ad″o-lesґəns) [L. adolescentia] the period of life beginning with the appearance of secondary sex characters and terminating with the cessation of somatic growth, roughly from 11 to 19 years of age; cf. puberty.Medical dictionary. 2011.