I. məˈtu̇(ə)r, mə.ˈtyu̇-, -u̇ə sometimes məˈchu̇- adjective
( -er/-est )
Etymology: Middle English, from Latin maturus ripe, seasonable; akin to Latin mane in the morning, manus good, and perhaps to Old Irish maith good
1. : involving, based on, or arrived at after slow and careful consideration
a mature argument
mature reflections
a mature plan of action
2.
a. : having attained the normal peak of natural growth and development : fully grown and developed : ripe
mature fruit
the mature reproducing human being
a mature ovary
: having undergone maturation
mature germ cells
b. : having attained a final or desired state usually after a period of ripening or processing
mature paper stock
full-bodied mature wines
c. : having or expressing the mental and emotional qualities that are considered normal to an adult socially adjusted human being
a mature outlook
parents were willing to be mature , to take responsibility — H.S.Canby
3. : of or relating to a condition of full development
a man of mature years
: characteristic of or suitable to a mature individual
mature responsibilities
a mature grace
4.
a. obsolete : taking place at the proper time
b. : having reached a set limit of time : due
a note that would become mature in 18 months
5.
a. of the topography of a surface : well dissected by the erosion of running water so that slopes predominate greatly over flats
b. : belonging to the middle portion of a cycle of erosion or other change in which geologic agents are at a maximum of efficiency or the entire work to be done is about half accomplished
a mature stream
mature coasts
II. verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: Middle French & Latin; Middle French maturer, madurer to make ripe, promote suppuration of, from Latin maturare, from maturus ripe
transitive verb
1. obsolete : suppurate
2.
a. : to bring or hasten to maturity
summer suns maturing the fruit
b. : to promote full development of : bring to a desired state or to completion
slowly matured his plans
c. : to fire (pottery) to the point that develops the optimum strength ; also : to fuse (a glaze) completely on pottery
intransitive verb
1. : to advance toward maturity : become fully developed or ripe
wine and judgment mature with age
2. of an obligation : to become due
the note matures next month
3. of pottery : to undergo maturing
Synonyms:
develop , ripen , age : mature indicates attaining to a fullness of growth, an emergence from an undeveloped or incomplete stage
a generation of serious students, matured by military service and anxious to absorb the best of what the institutions have to offer — Roy Lewis & Angus Maude
he matured the plan and attended to the details of fitting out the expedition that destroyed the privateer — C.S.Alden
develop indicates the freeing, unfolding, and growing of what has been latent, potential, or suspended
the kitten's hunting instinct was not yet developed — Bertrand Russell
there developed a growing hostility against special privileges granted by the government — H.S.Drinker
his interest in the theater, begun while he was a chemistry student, developed into a lifetime vocation — Americana Annual
ripen indicates attainment to a full stage of development, to the nearest possible perfection of the thing involved
friendship ripening into love
at twenty-three she was still young enough to ripen to a maturer beauty — Ellen Glasgow
he basked and ripened in the sun of books till he grew as mellow as a meerschaum — Van Wyck Brooks
the civil law, which was in force in most of the countries of continental Europe and their colonies, was the accepted product of the ripened experience of many centuries of Roman jurisprudence — Encyc. Americana
age may indicate approach to a period of decline or decay in reference to people; in reference to things it may suggest withholding use until the perfective effects of time may be felt
he has aged, suddenly, as though the burden he has been carrying for years has only now begun to tell on him — Gordon Bell
age the wine in old wooden barrels
aging the cheese before shipping it out
III. adjective
: having achieved a low but stable growth rate
mature businesses
mature products
mature markets