adultnessn.
/ˈadʌltnəs/, /əˈdʌltnəs/, U.S. /əˈdəltnəs/ The state, condition, or fact of being adult, or an adult; (possession of) adult qualities, attributes, or characteristics.In quot. 1754: complete or adult development.
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the world > people > person > adult > [noun] > adulthood or maturity
full eldOE
agec1275
douthc1275
full agec1390
maturitya1475
years?1532
just age1541
just years1541
consistencea1613
grown years1645
legal age1658
adultness1663
adultagea1670
muttonhood1841
adulthood1850
1663 E. Waterhouse Fortescutus Illustratus xliv. 495 Males under 14. and females under 12...have no sign of the spring of perfection and adultness in them.
1754 W. Smellie Treat. Midwifery II. v. 58 The gums being cut the teeth appeared in the adultness of those in grown persons.
1892 Atlantic Monthly Feb. 285/1 He romped, not with the easily detected purpose of condescending adultness, but as one who felt himself every inch a boy.
1971 J. C. Oates Wonderland i. 28 When Jesse saw his sister around school he was startled—her adultness, the authority of her firm little legs,..her manner of being in a hurry.
2007 Globe & Mail (Toronto) (Nexis) 14 Aug. l6 A large part of a child's appeal..stems from their lack of adultness: their fresh perspectives, their quirky logic and their lack of inhibitions.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2011; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
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n.1663