come of age
Become legally adult
To come of age is to reach adulthood or full maturity.
The phrase often marks a legal threshold—turning eighteen, gaining the right to vote, inheriting property.
More broadly, it describes reaching a point of development or recognition: The environmental movement came of age in the 1970s.
A coming-of-age story follows a young person's transition to maturity.
Transition-marking ceremony
- graduationCompleting academic requirements formally
- initiationFormal admission ceremony
- bar mitzvahJewish adulthood ceremony
- bat mitzvahFemale Jewish adulthood rite
quinceañera · debut · confirmation · vision quest · walkabout · sweet sixteen · threshold · turning point
Over half of total
- emancipationRelease from legal bondage
- voting rightsEntitlement to elect officials
- suffrageRight to cast ballots
- consentVoluntary agreement given
draft · jury duty · license · legal responsibility · autonomy · citizenship · adulthood · legal status
Increase in size
- wisdomGood judgment from experience
- self-awarenessInsight into one's psyche
- developmentProgress toward maturity
- maturationProcess of becoming complete
experience · enlightenment · understanding · insight · responsibility · self-sufficiency · independence · discernment
rite of passage
Transition-marking ceremony
- graduationCompleting academic requirements formally
- initiationFormal admission ceremony
- bar mitzvahJewish adulthood ceremony
bat mitzvah · quinceañera · debut · confirmation · vision quest · walkabout · sweet sixteen · threshold · turning point · landmark
majority
Over half of total
- emancipationRelease from legal bondage
- voting rightsEntitlement to elect officials
- suffrageRight to cast ballots
consent · draft · jury duty · license · legal responsibility · autonomy · citizenship · adulthood · legal status · independence
growth
Increase in size
- wisdomGood judgment from experience
- self-awarenessInsight into one's psyche
- developmentProgress toward maturity
maturation · experience · enlightenment · understanding · insight · responsibility · self-sufficiency · independence · discernment · perspective
come of ageregress
Revert to earlier state
Peter Pan syndrome · arrested development · stunted growth · infantilize · stagnate
age, come, welcome, become, coming, income, overcome, outcome, came