01 a. Brought by natural process to completeness of growth and development; fitted by growth and development for any function, action, or state, …
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1.
Brought by natural process to completeness of growth and development; fitted by growth and development for any function, action, or state, appropriate to its kind; full-grown; ripe.“Now is love mature in ear.” — Tennison.“How shall I meet, or how accost, the sage, Unskilled in speech, nor yet mature of age?” — Pope.
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2.
Completely worked out; fully digested or prepared; ready for action; made ready for destined application or use; perfected; as, a mature plan.“This lies glowing, . . . and is almost mature for the violent breaking out.” — Shak.
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3.
Of or pertaining to a condition of full development; as, a man of mature years.
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4.
Come to, or in a state of, completed suppuration.
Syn.
Ripe; perfect; completed; prepared; digested; ready.
-- Mature, Ripe. Both words describe fullness of growth. Mature brings to view the progressiveness of the process; ripe indicates the result. We speak of a thing as mature when thinking of the successive stayes through which it has passed; as ripe, when our attention is directed merely to its state. A mature judgment; mature consideration; ripe fruit; a ripe scholar.