mature
/məˈtʃʊə
/adjective (maturer, maturest)
1Fully developed physically; full-grown: she was now a mature woman owls are sexually mature at one year...
- Studies on the bamboo cell wall have focussed mainly on fully elongated and mature fibres.
- However, it is clear that only a small fraction of the spermatids develop into mature spermatozoa in males.
- Boys are almost fully mature at this point and have developed a tough outer shell that protects them from their natural predators.
Synonyms
adult, grown-up, grown, fully grown, full-grown, of age, fully developed, fully fledged, in one's prime, in full bloom, nubile
1.1(Especially of a young person) having reached a stage of mental or emotional development characteristic of an adult: a young man mature beyond his years...
- I don't deserve this and I am too mature to play silly emotional games.
- Does that mean I'm becoming a more emotionally and spiritually mature adult?
- He's mature beyond his years, practices extremely well, works really hard, soaks things up.
Synonyms
sensible, responsible, adult, level-headed, reliable, dependable;
discriminating, shrewd, practical, wise, sagacious, experienced, sophisticated
1.2(Of thought or planning) careful and thorough: on mature reflection he decided they should not go...
- On mature consideration though, perhaps those black puddings of theirs count as weapons of mass destruction and merit a pre-emptive strike.
- But I would hope that, on mature reflection, he would not be advised to take any purely technical point on service.
- What he provides instead is a substantial elaboration of the original, clarifying and extending it with the benefit of mature reflection.
Synonyms
careful, thorough, deep, considered, methodical
1.3Used euphemistically to describe someone middle-aged or old: Miss Walker was a mature lady when she married...
- In fact, farther to the southeast along the same fault zone, there are some more seismic gaps that are what we might describe as mature.
- Tall, mature, single, blue-blooded aristocrat seeks tall, mature foxy lady who loves dressing in furs.
- All are hypoallergenic and super-pure so they're perfect for thin and delicate mature skins.
2Having reached the most advanced stage in a process: Van Gogh’s mature work...
- They all come out with much more advanced, mature golf swings.
- In fact, I proudly imagined myself to be the only twelve year old in the UK with such advanced, mature tastes for my age.
- A lot of products are technologically mature, so the advances are in usability.
2.1(Of certain foods or drinks) ready for consumption: a rather nice mature Camembert...
- Again, if the rim is brown, it's probably mature and ready to drink.
- Food that I would normally savour, like mature cheese, bacon, or roast beef, has tasted dry and dead in my mouth.
- While most of the wines were of very recent vintage, we did taste one mature wine, and it was excellent.
Synonyms
ripe, ripened, mellow, ready, seasoned, full-flavoured
2.2Denoting an economy, industry, or market that has developed to a point where substantial expansion and investment no longer takes place: a mature, sophisticated economy...
- However, there is a problem here in that almost every other mature economy in Europe wants tax harmonisation.
- Markets are highly saturated, and the industry is mature in the developed world.
- In the midst of this, our president is determined to cut taxes to revive a mature economy.
3(Of a bill, bond, etc.) due for payment or repayment.It can point the way to creating a bond between two people, but it is not itself a mature bond.
verb [no object]
1(Of a person or thing) become fully grown or developed: children mature at different ages the trees take at least thirty years to mature...
- The trapping was prompted by a drop in numbers as it was estimated that only around five per cent of all spawnings actually matured into young fish.
- Yorkshire's most famous soul singer has matured into a handsome, outwardly respectable middle-aged man with a raffish undertow.
- Not only did they survive, but every single one of my seedlings matured into a sturdy adolescent.
Synonyms
be fully grown, be full-grown, be fully developed, develop fully, come of age, become adult, reach adulthood, reach maturity
develop, grow, evolve, bloom, blossom, flourish, thrive, come to fruition
1.1(Of a person) reach an advanced stage of mental or emotional development: he has matured and is ready to take on new responsibilities...
- He had matured and he was ready to be a father no matter what it took.
- Report writers say that you have matured and improved your coping strategies.
- It's impossible to project how players will physically grow and mature emotionally.
Synonyms
become more sensible/responsible/adult, grow up;
bloom, blossom
1.2(With reference to certain foods or drinks) become or cause to become ready for consumption: [no object]: leave the cheese to mature [with object]: the Scotch is matured for a minimum of three years...
- Cheddar has to be kept for a long time before it matures, whereas Caerphilly ripens in 10 days.
- Two styles were released after maturing for three and five years respectively in French and American oak; only a five-year-old vintage dated version is now made.
- And the rule of the thumb is; the longer the cheese takes to mature, the sharper or stronger the taste it develops.
Synonyms
ripen, grow ripe, become ripe, mellow, become mellow, age
2(Of an insurance policy, security, etc.) reach the end of its term and hence become payable: when the policy matures it pays off the loan...
- Of the total debt stock, 80 per cent was private debt and almost 36 per cent was short term, maturing in 12 months or less.
- It's reckoned that the average policy yet to mature will come up several thousand pounds short.
- If I didn't trust the stock market to create a lump sum to pay off my home loan when it matured, then why on earth did I trust it to produce enough for my retirement pot at the end of my working life?
Derivatives
maturely
/ adverb ...- One person may be able to watch or do something very maturely where another person older than them may not be able to handle the same situation.
- Try talking seriously and maturely to your mum.
- Some of us act maturely and some act immaturely.
Origin
Late Middle English: from Latin maturus 'timely, ripe'; perhaps related to matins.
demur from Middle English:
Demur ‘raise doubts or objections’, was first recorded as meaning ‘linger, delay’. The source of the verb is Old French demourer, based on Latin de- ‘away, completely’ and morari ‘delay, stay’. Demure (Late Middle English) with which it is often confused, probably comes from the same French word, influenced by Old French mur ‘grave’ (from Latin maturus ‘ripe or mature’ source of mature (Late Middle English)). Early meanings of demure were ‘sober, serious, reserved’. The sense ‘reserved, shy’ dates from the late 17th century.