of or pertaining to preadolescence or a preadolescent
noun
2.
a person who is in the preadolescent years
Word origin
[1905–10; pre- + adolescent]This word is first recorded in the period 1905–10. Other words that entered Englishat around the same time include: push-up, revolving door, scrounge, thiamine, white listpre- is a prefix occurring originally in loanwords from Latin, where it meant “before”(preclude; prevent); applied freely as a prefix, with the meanings “prior to,” “in advance of,” “early,”“beforehand,” “before,” “in front of,” and with other figurative meanings (preschool; prewar; prepay: preoral; prefrontal)
Examples of 'preadolescent' in a sentence
preadolescent
However, it appears that increasing numbers of grown-ups are refusing to abandon their preadolescent ambitions.