adulthood

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

adulthood — 名詞

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

1.名詞B2
釋義

成年期

人生中身心發育完成、被視為成年人的階段

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.

Hyun 搬離父母家，正式邁入成年期。

into + adulthood for crossing into a new life stage

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

許多年輕人都已步入成年期，卻連簡單的一餐都不會煮。

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.