underage

/ˈʌndəreɪdʒ/ (bre, ipa) · /ˈʌndəreɪdʒ/ (ame, ipa) · /ˌən-dər-ˈāj/ (ame, mw)

underage — 形容詞

  • underagepositive
  • more underagecomparative
  • most underagesuperlative

1. describes someone who is not old enough by law to do a particular thing, such as

1.形容詞B1
釋義

未成年的

低於法定年齡的

describes someone who is not old enough by law to do a particular thing, such as buy alcohol, drive a car, or get married

例句

Rachel showed her passport at the club entrance to prove she was not underage.

Rachel 在夜店入口出示護照，證明自己並非未成年。

predicative: prove [someone] is not underage

The shop assistant told Mayumi she looked underage and refused to sell her beer.

店員告訴 Mayumi 她看起來未成年，因此拒絕賣啤酒給她。

同義詞
  • minor

    Noun form referring to a person below the legal age; underage is an adjective

  • juvenile

    More formal, often used in legal or judicial contexts

  • under-aged

    Alternative spelling with a hyphen, less common

反義詞
  • of age

    Having reached the legal age for a particular activity

  • adult

    A person who has reached the legal age of adulthood

文法句型

be underage

underage + person noun

用法筆記

Can be used either predicatively (She is underage) or attributively before a noun referring to a person (underage drinker). The predicative form is more common in everyday speech.

常見錯誤

❌He is an underage' (using underage as a noun).
✅He is underage' or 'He is a minor.
💡Underage is an adjective, not a noun.

2. describes activities or situations that involve people who are below the legal a

2.形容詞B2
釋義

涉及未成年

由未成年人從事的

describes activities or situations that involve people who are below the legal adult age

例句

The new law makes underage marriage illegal across the whole country.

新法規定全國各地禁止涉及未成年人的婚姻。

attributive: underage marriage

Ada read a government report about underage drinking in her town.

Ada 讀了一份關於家鄉未成年人飲酒問題的政府報告。

attributive: underage drinking

同義詞
  • youth

    Noun form; less specific and does not carry the same legal implication

  • minor

    Noun; can convey a similar idea but requires restructuring the sentence

文法句型

underage + activity noun

用法筆記

Almost always used attributively before a noun that names an activity or situation, such as drinking, marriage, employment, or gambling. This sense does not describe people directly.