Library / English Dictionary

MATURE

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 I. (adjective) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Fully considered and perfected

Example:

mature plans

Synonyms:

mature; matured

Classified under:

Adjectives

Similar:

developed (being changed over time so as to be e.g. stronger or more complete or more useful)

Sense 2

Meaning:

(of birds) having developed feathers or plumage; often used in combination

Synonyms:

fledged; mature

Classified under:

Adjectives

Similar:

full-fledged; fully fledged ((of a bird) having reached full development with fully grown adult plumage; ready to fly)

fledgeling; fledgling ((of a young bird) having acquired its flight feathers)

Derivation:

matureness; maturity (state of being mature; full development)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Having reached full natural growth or development

Example:

a mature cell

Classified under:

Adjectives

Similar:

meridian; prime (being at the best stage of development)

overblown (past the stage of full bloom)

marriageable; nubile (of girls or women who are eligible to marry)

headed (of leafy vegetables; having formed into a head)

full-blown; matured (fully ripe; at the height of bloom)

fruiting (capable of bearing fruit)

abloom; efflorescent (bursting into flower)

adult; big; full-grown; fully grown; grown; grownup ((of animals) fully developed)

Also:

old ((used especially of persons) having lived for a relatively long time or attained a specific age)

Attribute:

matureness; maturity (state of being mature; full development)

age (how long something has existed)

Antonym:

immature (not yet mature)

Derivation:

matureness; maturity (state of being mature; full development)

maturity (the period of time in your life after your physical growth has stopped and you are fully developed)

Sense 4

Meaning:

Characteristic of maturity

Example:

mature for her age

Classified under:

Adjectives

Similar:

autumnal (characteristic of late maturity verging on decline)

ripe (at the highest point of development especially in judgment or knowledge)

Antonym:

immature (characteristic of a lack of maturity)

Sense 5

Meaning:

Fully developed or matured and ready to be eaten or used

Example:

full-bodied mature wines

Synonyms:

mature; ripe

Classified under:

Adjectives

Similar:

aged; ripened (of wines, fruit, cheeses; having reached a desired or final condition; ('aged' pronounced as one syllable))

mellow; mellowed (having a full and pleasing flavor through proper aging)

overripe (too ripe and beginning to turn soft)

Derivation:

matureness (state of being mature; full development)

 II. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Cause to ripen and discharge pus

Example:

The oil suppurates the pustules

Synonyms:

mature; suppurate

Classified under:

Verbs of grooming, dressing and bodily care

Hypernyms (to "mature" is one way to...):

draw (cause to localize at one point)

Verb group:

fester; maturate; suppurate (ripen and generate pus)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Derivation:

maturation ((medicine) the formation of morbific matter in an abscess or a vesicle and the discharge of pus)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Grow old or older

Example:

Young men senesce

Synonyms:

age; get on; maturate; mature; senesce

Classified under:

Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.

Hypernyms (to "mature" is one way to...):

develop (grow, progress, unfold, or evolve through a process of evolution, natural growth, differentiation, or a conducive environment)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "mature"):

turn (become officially one year older)

fossilise; fossilize (become mentally inflexible)

dote (be foolish or senile due to old age)

Sentence frames:

Something ----s
Somebody ----s

Derivation:

maturation ((biology) the process of an individual organism growing organically; a purely biological unfolding of events involved in an organism changing gradually from a simple to a more complex level)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Cause to ripen or develop fully

Example:

Age matures a good wine

Synonyms:

mature; ripen

Classified under:

Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.

Hypernyms (to "mature" is one way to...):

alter; change; modify (cause to change; make different; cause a transformation)

Cause:

ripen (grow ripe)

Sentence frame:

Something ----s something

Derivation:

maturement (coming to full development; becoming mature)

Sense 4

Meaning:

Develop and reach maturity; undergo maturation

Example:

The child grew fast

Synonyms:

grow; maturate; mature

Classified under:

Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.

Hypernyms (to "mature" is one way to...):

develop (grow, progress, unfold, or evolve through a process of evolution, natural growth, differentiation, or a conducive environment)

"Mature" entails doing...:

age; get on; maturate; mature; senesce (grow old or older)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "mature"):

ripen (grow ripe)

find; find oneself (accept and make use of one's personality, abilities, and situation)

grow up (become an adult)

Sentence frames:

Something ----s
Somebody ----s

Sentence example:

Sam and Sue mature

Derivation:

maturation; maturement (coming to full development; becoming mature)

Sense 5

Meaning:

Become due for repayment

Example:

These bonds mature in 2005

Classified under:

Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.

Hypernyms (to "mature" is one way to...):

change (undergo a change; become different in essence; losing one's or its original nature)

Sentence frame:

Something ----s

Sense 6

Meaning:

Develop and work out fully in one's mind

Example:

I need to mature my thoughts

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Hypernyms (to "mature" is one way to...):

develop; explicate; formulate (elaborate, as of theories and hypotheses)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Derivation:

maturement (coming to full development; becoming mature)

Credits

 Context examples: 

In developing rat neurons, we found that Shank 2 and 3 accumulate at synapses in parallel with a switch to mature AMPARs.

(Zinc Deficiency during Pregnancy Linked to Autism in Babies, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

The team also discovered how ovarian cells share information during development of an ovarian follicle, which holds the maturing egg.

(Study solves ovarian cell mystery, shedding new light on reproductive disorders, NIH)

A mature polarized dendritic cell with potent immunostimulating activity.

(Alpha-type-1 Polarized Dendritic Cells, NCI Thesaurus)

Any physiological aspect of aging; irreversible changes in an organism that occur over time and lead to a more mature condition.

(Aging-Related Process, NCI Thesaurus)

It is composed of mature adipose and hematopoietic/lymphoid tissues.

(Adrenal Gland Myelolipoma, NCI Thesaurus)

Sharks are sensitive to overfishing because they grow slowly, take a long time to mature, and have few offspring – a bit like mammals such as humans.

(New way to save endangered sharks – and our seafood, SciDev.Net)

This protein signals satellite cells to become, or differentiate, into mature muscle cells.

(Controlling Muscle Repair, NIH)

A hematopoietic growth factor with activity on mature and immature hematopoietic progenitor cells.

(Ancestim, NCI Thesaurus)

A peripheral (mature) T-cell lymphoma, consisting of usually large anaplastic, CD30 positive cells.

(Anaplastic large cell lymphoma, NCI Thesaurus/WHO)

None of this has been easy, but you have been maturing at a rapid rate.

(AstrologyZone.com, by Susan Miller)