What is it About 20-Somethings?

J L.
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. epiphenomenon
    a secondary phenomenon that is a by-product of another phenomenon
    To some, what we’re seeing is a transient epiphenomenon, the byproduct of cultural and economic forces.
  2. predate
    be earlier in time; go back further
    It’s a development that predates the current economic doldrums, and no one knows yet what the impact will be — on the prospects of the young men and women; on the parents on whom so many of them depend; on society, built on the expectation of an orderly progression in which kids finish school, grow up, start careers, make a family and eventually retire to live on pensions supported by the next crop of kids who finish school, grow up, start careers, make a family and on and on.
  3. milestone
    stone post at side of a road to show distances
    Sociologists traditionally define the “transition to adulthood” as marked by five milestones: completing school, leaving home, becoming financially independent, marrying and having a child.
  4. lockstep
    a manner of marching in file in which each person's leg moves with and behind the corresponding leg of the person ahead
    The whole idea of milestones, of course, is something of an anachronism; it implies a lockstep march toward adulthood that is rare these days.
  5. premarital
    relating to events before a marriage
    Among the cultural changes he points to that have led to “emerging adulthood” are the need for more education to survive in an information-based economy; fewer entry-level jobs even after all that schooling; young people feeling less rush to marry because of the general acceptance of premarital sex, cohabitation and birth control; and young women feeling less rush to have babies given their wide range of career options and their access to assisted reproductive technology if they delay...
  6. cohabitation
    the act of living together and having a sexual relationship
    Among the cultural changes he points to that have led to “emerging adulthood” are the need for more education to survive in an information-based economy; fewer entry-level jobs even after all that schooling; young people feeling less rush to marry because of the general acceptance of premarital sex, cohabitation and birth control; and young women feeling less rush to have babies given their wide range of career options and their access to assisted reproductive technology if they delay...
  7. monogamous
    having one mate
    Others reach the milestones completely out of order, advancing professionally before committing to a monogamous relationship, having children young and marrying later, leaving school to go to work and returning to school long after becoming financially secure.
  8. curmudgeon
    an irascible, cantankerous person full of stubborn ideas
    My Dad Says,” starring William Shatner as a divorced curmudgeon whose 20-something son can’t make it on his own as a blogger, and “Big Lake,” in which a financial whiz kid loses his Wall Street job and moves back home to rural Pennsylvania.
  9. forestalling
    the act of preventing something by anticipating and disposing of it effectively
    The traditional cycle seems to have gone off course, as young people remain un­tethered to romantic partners or to permanent homes, going back to school for lack of better options, traveling, avoiding commitments, competing ferociously for unpaid internships or temporary (and often grueling) Teach for America jobs, forestalling the beginning of adult life.
  10. neurological
    of or relating to or used in or practicing neurology
    To others, the longer road to adulthood signifies something deep, durable and maybe better-suited to our neurological hard-wiring.
  11. doldrums
    a state of inactivity
    It’s a development that predates the current economic doldrums, and no one knows yet what the impact will be — on the prospects of the young men and women; on the parents on whom so many of them depend; on society, built on the expectation of an orderly progression in which kids finish school, grow up, start careers, make a family and eventually retire to live on pensions supported by the next crop of kids who finish school, grow up, start careers, make a family and on and on.
  12. accentuate
    stress or single out as important
Created on Tue Jul 26 12:48:44 EDT 2011 (updated Tue Jan 03 06:00:11 EST 2012)

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