Grown-up

Mature, responsible, and suitable for an adult.

Reach for it when describing behavior or judgment as mature and responsibly adult

Her grown-up response focused on repair instead of blame.

• everyday

  adult

  age category or adult suitability is what matters

  not when Adult can mean explicit content and does not automatically imply responsibility.

• everyday

  sensible

  a practical choice needs modest approval

  not when Sensible describes one decision and may not support a claim of maturity.

• warm

  levelheaded

  calm judgment under pressure is central

  not when Levelheaded misses independence, accountability, and other aspects of adult conduct.

• professional

  mature

  sound emotional judgment is the specific quality

  not when Mature also applies to development, flavor, or content, which can blur the adult-behavior sense.

• professional

  responsible

  reliable ownership of duties deserves the praise

  not when Responsible behavior may be shown by a child and is not synonymous with being grown-up.

• literary

  worldly

  experience and social sophistication are intended

  not when Worldly can imply cynicism or privilege rather than ethical maturity.

• childish
• immature
• irresponsible

• grown-up response

  A grown-up response begins by acknowledging the harm.

• grown-up conversation

  They had a grown-up conversation about the project's limits.

• feel grown-up

  Managing her first budget made the apprentice feel grown-up.

Grown-up can patronize adults or imply that children cannot show maturity. Name the responsible behavior when possible.