young adult
Recently matured person
Young adult describes the life stage between adolescence and full adulthood, roughly ages 18 to 30.
In publishing, young adult (YA) refers to books marketed to teenagers and early twentysomethings: The young adult section has all the dystopian novels.
The term threads a needle—old enough for mature themes, young enough for coming-of-age concerns.
Upper secondary institution
- teenagerPerson aged thirteen-nineteen
- juniorLower in standing
- seniorHigher in rank
- sophomoreSecond-year pupil
freshman · prom · graduation · driver's license · curfew · peer pressure · acne · growth spurt
Category of creative work
- protagonistStory's central figure
- dystopianDepicting oppressive imagined societies
- fantasyImaginative mental wandering
- romanceLove and its excitement
coming-of-age · Hunger Games · Twilight · John Green · bildungsroman · first-person · trilogy · series
Teenage developmental stage
- maturationProcess of becoming complete
- pubertySexual development stage
- identity formationBuilding a sense of self
- self-discoveryLearning one's true character
brain development · risk-taking · peer influence · autonomy · independence · emotional growth · decision-making · life skills
Number after seventeen
- nineteenEighth prime number
- twenty-somethingAged 20-29
- college-ageAround eighteen to twenty-two
- twentiesThird decade of life
millennial · Gen Z · undergraduate · gap year · quarter-life · voting age · legal age · drinking age
Having much vigor
- vibrantFull of life, intensity
- dynamicActive and changing
- ambitiousStrongly desiring achievement
- hopefulFeeling positive expectation
idealistic · passionate · driven · resilient · adaptable · fresh · enthusiastic · optimistic
high school
Upper secondary institution
sophomore · freshman · prom · graduation · driver's license · curfew · peer pressure · acne · growth spurt · homework
genre
Category of creative work
- protagonistStory's central figure
- dystopianDepicting oppressive imagined societies
- fantasyImaginative mental wandering
romance · coming-of-age · Hunger Games · Twilight · John Green · bildungsroman · first-person · trilogy · series · crossover appeal
adolescence
Teenage developmental stage
- maturationProcess of becoming complete
- pubertySexual development stage
- identity formationBuilding a sense of self
self-discovery · brain development · risk-taking · peer influence · autonomy · independence · emotional growth · decision-making · life skills · responsibility
eighteen
Number after seventeen
- nineteenEighth prime number
- twenty-somethingAged 20-29
- college-ageAround eighteen to twenty-two
twenties · millennial · Gen Z · undergraduate · gap year · quarter-life · voting age · legal age · drinking age · independence
energetic
Having much vigor
hopeful · idealistic · passionate · driven · resilient · adaptable · fresh · enthusiastic · optimistic · adventurous
- booksnovel, textbooks, study guides, book, paperback
- age slanggeezer, codger, coot, old fart, old timer
- coming-of-agecoming-of-age, bildungsroman, growing up, maturation, adolescence
- girls fictionheroines, girl power, schoolgirls, princesses, coming-of-age
- modern fictionnovels, novel, contemporary fiction, literary fiction, modern fiction
- twentiestwenties, early adulthood, emerging adulthood, college grad, self-discovery
young adultsenior citizen
Aged person, typically retired
old person · retiree · octogenarian · senior · septuagenarian
young adultmature adult
Fully grown person
seasoned veteran · old hand · wise elder · old soul · worldly-wise
young, adult, youth, youthful, juvenile, younger, youngest, juveniles, youngish