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We've got a name of a component in our software that's called minor (or, in computer English: IsCustomerMinor). We'd like to turn the logic around and refer to the case as the opposite, meaning not being a minor.

After some googling I've only come up with unrelated words as magisterial and peremptory, which are not really what we're looking for. The closest one was major but I have never heard that being used as referral to ones age.

Is the following sentence okay? If not, what work should be used instead?

It's her decision now - she's not a minor anymore; she's a major as of last month, in fact.

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    isCustomerOfAge or isCustomerAdult
    – dramzy
    Commented Aug 28, 2015 at 14:01
  • isCustomerNotMinor
    – talrnu
    Commented Aug 28, 2015 at 17:54
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    Just from a readability perspective, I'd be tempted to add an article into the name to make it more readable. If it's called isCustomerAMinor and isCustomerAnAdult, it fits slightly better with the English usage. Without the article, my mind assumes the word is describing their character. Nathon Fillion isAnAdult, but I'd never say he isAdult. The guy's a total kid, even at 44 (and we love him for it!)
    – Cort Ammon
    Commented Aug 28, 2015 at 20:22
  • (The difference, I believe, is that adult can be either an adjective or a noun.)
    – Cort Ammon
    Commented Aug 28, 2015 at 20:32

4 Answers 4

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The "opposite" of a 'minor' is an 'adult'. Or, you can say "she has reached the age of majority." For the latter see the Oxford dictionary, definition 2.0.

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  • Ah, you beat me on 'age of majority' with reference. +1 :)
    – Maulik V
    Commented Aug 28, 2015 at 5:17
  • I can't believe how I could not have found that word. And I can't believe even more how I could actually forget it to begin with. Embarrassing...
    – Konrad Viltersten
    Commented Aug 28, 2015 at 19:05
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Another typical expression is to be of legal age.

As a side note, major is the opposite of minor, when minor is used in the meaning of "small", e.g. an item has a minor (small) flaw vs an item has a major (big, large) flaw.

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In reference to a person's age, a 'minor' is somebody who's under the age of 18 (in the USA, at least). It's a legal term that means something like 'still a child'. So the opposite of 'minor' is 'adult'.

A minor can't vote for government, doesn't usually pay income tax, and their parent can usually make legal decisions for them without their consent.

In reference to how important/severe/significant something is, the opposite is 'major'. You can have a 'minor headache' or a 'major headache'.

So - a 'minor' is a person who's under 18. A 'minor person' is somebody who's unimportant. An 'adult' is a person who's 18 or older. A 'major person' is somebody who's important.

For extra fun, 'major' is also the opposite of 'minor' in reference to western music, which has 'major' and 'minor' keys.

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If the expression of this word is about a person, I will say that the opposite of minor is senior because there is nothing like minor and major for people. But, if it is about things like sport teams, there is minor and major, e.g. baseball leagues.

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    "Senior" is usually used for those who are getting on in years: perhaps they're old enough to retire, or perhaps they're just approaching that.
    – Nathan Tuggy
    Commented Aug 28, 2015 at 16:46

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