GROWING UP Synonyms: 47 Similar and Opposite Words

growing up

verb

present participle of grow up

as in growing

to become mature everyone has to grow up at some point in their lives

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Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of growing up Prison, death, growing up, cats. — Literary Hub, 12 May 2026 Questions of the body, identity and growing up are also central to the selection. — Leo Barraclough, Variety, 9 June 2026 Richard Gere is an unbelievable actor, and again, like Ed, represents touch points in my growing up and learning about film. — Andreas Wiseman, Deadline, 12 May 2026 Their frequent family road trips, including multiple visits to Rock City, scripted her life growing up in Georgia. — Judith Garrison, AJC.com, 16 June 2026 While growing up, in the San Fernando Valley, Levin saw fame’s capacity to protect certain people from the consequences of the law. — Paula Mejía, New Yorker, 15 Apr. 2026 On Tuesday, Donny took to Instagram to share some thoughts about growing up and performing alongside Alan in the Sixties and Seventies. — Cheyenne Roundtree, Rolling Stone, 21 Apr. 2026 For fans of those cultish works, which had their heyday around the time Refn was growing up and discovering them for himself, Her Private Hell plays like a nostalgic jewel box that literally looks like it was shot inside of a jewel box. — Jordan Mintzer, HollywoodReporter, 19 May 2026 The prosecutor said Mann would testify about Weinstein’s intense interest in her upbringing, asking her questions about growing up poor in a dairy farm town in Washington State, and being raised by an evangelical family that at times lived in a mobile home. — Molly Crane-Newman, New York Daily News, 21 Apr. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for growing up

Verb

The group, already one of the largest White supremacist organizations in the country, is quickly growing its membership, at a time when hate crimes are on the rise.

— Karissa Waddick, USA Today, 5 July 2026
And each time another first-time climber reaches the top, the applause rising from the rocks below suggests that, little by little, that community is growing.

— ABC News, ABC News, 5 July 2026

Definition of growing

Verb

New York City has bet heavily on converting aging office buildings into apartments to help ease a housing shortage.

— Samantha Delouya, CNN Money, 8 July 2026
The new fleet will replace Canada’s four aging Victoria-class submarines, which were purchased secondhand from the United Kingdom in the late 1990s.

— Rob Gillies, Los Angeles Times, 7 July 2026

Definition of aging

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growing (in)

growing up

growl

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“Growing up.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/growing%20up. Accessed 8 Jul. 2026.

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Synonyms of growing up

verb

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