premature

Definition

Occurring before a state of readiness or maturity has arrived.

Etymology

From Latin praemātūrus, equivalent to pre- + mature. First use appears c. 1440 in a translation of Palladius's De Re Rustica.

Example Sentences

• "a premature birth"
• "premature reports of the singer's death"
• "I was lost in reveries of death, and the idea of premature burial held continual possession of my brain."

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