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Glite Dictionary
🏅 Completely developed 🐦 Mature with feathers
fully fledged

fully fledged

4.8
Having all the feathers and strength needed to fly away from the nest
  • adjective
  • /ˈfʊli flɛdʒd/
translation icon : totalmente desarrollado
  • The chick became fully fledged in just a few weeks and was soon ready to leave the nest.

Now it's not fully fledged full fat REM sleep yet, but it seems to be something very much like REM sleep.

Examples

  • The young eagle is now a fully fledged bird.

  • After months of care, the injured sparrow is now fully fledged and able to fly on its own.

  • Most eagles do not leave the nest until they are fully fledged and strong enough to soar.

  • Are the chicks fully fledged yet?

  • After months of practice, she became a fully fledged musician who could perform confidently on stage.

  • The young bird took its first flight now that it was fully fledged and ready to leave the nest.

  • Once the students completed their training, they were considered fully fledged professionals in their field.

Synonyms

fledged
vsfully fledged
  • Specialized
1 5.3

Birds that have grown the feathers they need can fly

is about complete maturity and full development rather than just having flight feathers
full-fledged
vsfully fledged
1 5.5

A bird with fully grown feathers that is ready to fly

is the same meaning but presented as an alternative written form
fledgling
vsfully fledged
6.1

Describes a young bird that has just learned to fly

is mature and fully developed rather than newly able to fly
fledgeling
vsfully fledged
  • UK
5.5

Having feathers for flying and still young

is fully developed and mature rather than only just ready for flight
in full feather
vsfully fledged
  • Archaic
9.2

Wearing bright feathers or the best clothes and looking proud

focuses on having all flight feathers and biological maturity not appearance

Antonyms

unfledged
9.9

Not yet covered in feathers, like a young bird or an arrow

How Developed

fully fledged
4.8
fledged
  • Specialized
1 5.3
unfledged
9.9
featherless
1 4.1

Surface Forms

fully fledged positive

Morphology

fully + fledged

The meaning is directly compositional: 'fully' (=completely) modifies 'fledged' (having the feathers/being developed for independent flight), so a learner who knows both words can infer 'fully fledged' = fully developed/mature. This follows a regular modifier + adjective pattern and is cross-linguistically transparent, making it immediately comprehensible to B1 learners who know the constituents.

Etymology

Fully fledged originally describes a bird that is fledged, which means it has all its flight feathers and is 'ready to fly', so it simply means the bird is mature and can leave the nest.