Meaning & use
prepubescent
Last updated
Meanings
adjectivecomparable
Describing a child who is younger than the age at which the body begins to mature sexually.
Grammar: Usually placed before a noun: prepubescent children; it is rarely graded.
Patterns
- prepubescent child
The study followed prepubescent children over five years.
Prepubescent voices are higher than adult voices.
Doctors adjust the dose for prepubescent patients.
nouncountabletechnical
A child who has not yet reached puberty.
Grammar: Used mostly in clinical or research writing, often in the plural.
The trial included prepubescents and teenagers.
Nutrition needs differ for prepubescents.
The camp organized separate activities for prepubescents.
Word forms
| plural | prepubescents |
|---|
Common combinations
- prepubescent child
- The survey asked about every prepubescent child in the school.
- prepubescent boys
- Prepubescent boys often sing soprano in choirs.
- prepubescent girls
- The clinic studied growth in prepubescent girls.
- prepubescent years
- Habits form in the prepubescent years.
Synonyms and how they differ
- preteen
- Preteen is casual and usually refers to ages nine to twelve, while prepubescent is a clinical term about biology.
- childlike
- Childlike describes qualities like innocence, not a medical stage.
- juvenile
- Juvenile is broader and also used for animals or in law, with no link to puberty.
Opposites
Word family
- puberty noun
- the stage when the body becomes sexually mature
- pubescent adjective
- going through puberty
- postpubescent adjective
- after puberty
- adolescent noun
- a young person between childhood and adulthood
Commonly confused: prepubescent or preadolescent?
prepubescent vs preadolescent
Preadolescent is a near-synonym but more about the age stage before adolescence, while prepubescent is about physical changes.
Practice
A pediatrician describing a nine-year-old who has not started body changes of puberty would call the child ___.
Choose one answer.
Prepubescent means before puberty begins. Postpubescent means after it and senescent refers to aging.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “prepubescent”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.