Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
nonage

nonage

9.9
The time before a person becomes an adult by law
  • noun
  • /ˈnɒnɪdʒ/
  • Archaic
translation icon : minoría

Examples

  • Of boys in their nonage.

    Fiction book (1994)

  • Now, at last, Western humanity has left its nonage and attained its majority in science, politics, and ethics.

    Blog text (8)

  • Children are considered to be in their nonage until they turn eighteen.

  • During her nonage, she had many struggles with her identity and independence.

  • The laws surrounding contracts often prohibit minors from entering into them due to their nonage.

Synonyms

youth
vsnonage
164 1.0

The time between childhood and adulthood when someone is young

focuses on legal age limits rather than general being young
minority
vsnonage
  • Formal
11 7.4

The time in life before a person is legally an adult

is the same legal stage but expressed using a different term

Antonyms

maturity
101 3.3

A state of being fully grown in body, mind, or feelings

adulthood
61 3.1

The time in life when a person is fully grown and has more responsibilities

Surface Forms

nonage singular
nonages plural

Morphology

nonage = age (transparent) = non + age

Formed by the negative prefix 'non-' + 'age', which yields the straightforward meaning 'not of age' (underage).

Etymology

The word nonage comes from the parts non meaning 'not' and age meaning 'years' or how old someone is. That's why nonage means the time when someone is not old enough to be an adult.