adultize
adultize verb: to raise (a child) in such a way that it adopts adult behaviors earlier than is usual.
Verb
adultize (third-person singular simple present adultizes, present participle adultizing, simple past and past participle adultized)
- To raise (a child) in such a way that it adopts adult behaviors earlier than is usual.
- Talk with them in an adult manner, but do not "adultize" them. Do not expect them to be miniature adults.1986, Joanne Rand Whitmore, Intellectual Giftedness in Young Children: Recognition and Development, page 86
Forms of adultize
| third-person singular present | adultizes |
|---|---|
| present participle | adultizing |
| past participle | adultized |
| past | adultized |
| alternative form | adultise |
Origin of adultize
From adult + -ize.
Words formed from adultize
Questions about adultize
- What does adultize mean?
- Adultize means to raise (a child) in such a way that it adopts adult behaviors earlier than is usual.
- What part of speech is adultize?
- Adultize is a verb.
- What is the past tense of adultize?
- The past tense of adultize is adultized.
Words near adultize in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: adultize (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Cite this entry: “adultize.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/adultize. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.