adulthood

/ˈædʌlthʊd/ (bre, ipa) · /əˈdʌlthʊd/ (ame, ipa)

adulthood — noun

1. the stage of life that begins once a person has finished growing up and is treat

1.名詞B2
釋義

the stage of life that begins once a person has finished growing up and is treated by society as fully grown, with the rights and duties that come with it.

例句

Hyun moved out of his parents' house and stepped firmly into adulthood.

into + adulthood for crossing into a new life stage

Many young people reach adulthood without ever learning how to cook a simple meal.

reach + adulthood collocation

同義詞
  • maturity

    more about mental and emotional ripeness; adulthood is more about age and legal status

  • majority

    formal/legal — the moment one becomes legally adult, not the whole period

  • manhood

    male-specific and somewhat literary, often emphasising identity rather than age

  • womanhood

    female-specific counterpart to manhood, with a similar literary feel

反義詞
  • childhood

    the years of life before adulthood begins

  • infancy

    the very earliest years of life, well before adulthood

  • adolescence

    the teenage years that sit between childhood and adulthood

文法句型

reach + adulthood

into + adulthood

throughout + adulthood

用法筆記

Almost always uncountable and used without an article, since it names a life period rather than a single thing. Frequently appears with prepositions of motion or duration (‘into adulthood’, ‘throughout adulthood’, ‘during adulthood’), and is often modified by a stage word (‘early’, ‘young’, ‘late’).

常見錯誤

❌She reached the adulthood at twenty.
✅She reached adulthood at twenty.
💡adulthood is uncountable, so no ‘the’ is needed before it.
❌He has lived through two adulthoods.
✅He has lived through two distinct phases of adulthood.
💡adulthood is not pluralised; use ‘phases of adulthood’ to talk about multiple stages.