Meaning & use
adult life
Last updated
Meanings
noununcountable
the part of a person's life when they are fully grown and no longer a child.
Grammar: Used without 'a' or 'an': Adult life brings new responsibilities. Do not say 'an adult life' when you mean this general period.
Patterns
- in adult life
- during adult life
- adult life brings something
In adult life, she moved to a new city and started her own business.
Many people say their closest friendships began in adult life, not at school.
Adult life brings both freedom and a lot of paperwork.
nouncountable
the way a particular adult person lives, including their work, home, and relationships.
Grammar: Can take 'a' or 'an' when you describe one person's life: He built a quiet adult life in the countryside.
Patterns
- a happy adult life
- build a new adult life
- his/her adult life
After the divorce, he slowly built a new adult life on his own.
Her adult life looks very different from the one her parents planned for her.
Common combinations
- in adult life
- In adult life, you often have to make decisions without help.
- early adult life
- He spent his early adult life traveling and working abroad.
- adult life brings
- Adult life brings bills, deadlines, and a lot of independence.
- prepare for adult life
- Schools should help students prepare for adult life.
- a happy adult life
- She wanted a happy adult life with a job she loved.
Synonyms and how they differ
- adulthood
- Adulthood focuses on the state or stage of being an adult, while adult life often refers to the experiences and daily reality of that period.
- grown-up life
- Grown-up life is more informal and slightly childish in tone; adult life is the neutral phrase used in writing and speech.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: adult life or adultery?
adult life vs adultery
Adultery means sex between a married person and someone who is not their spouse; it sounds similar but has a completely different meaning.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'adult life' correctly?
Choose one answer.
When 'adult life' means the general period of being an adult, it is uncountable and takes no article, so 'in adult life' is correct. 'In an adult life' wrongly treats it as a single countable thing, and 'in adult lives' changes it to a plural that does not fit the general meaning.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “adult life”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.