Premature
/ˌpɹi.məˈtʊɹ/ adj, noun, slang
adj, noun, slang ·Common ·High school level
Definitions
Noun
- 1 An infant born prematurely.
Adjective
- 1 Occurring before a state of readiness or maturity has arrived.
"a premature birth"
- 2 Taking place earlier than anticipated, prepared for, or desired.
"I was lost in reveries of death, and the idea of premature burial held continual possession of my brain."
- 3 Suffering from premature ejaculation. informal
Adjective
- 1 uncommonly early or before the expected time wordnet
- 2 too soon or too hasty wordnet
- 3 born after a gestation period of less than the normal time wordnet
Example
More examples"Are you saying that our plan was accepted? I hope you're not showing me any premature happiness here."
Etymology
From Latin praemātūrus, equivalent to pre- + mature. First use appears c. 1440 in a translation of Palladius's De Re Rustica.