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immature

immature

15 3.0
Not fully grown, like a young plant or animal
  • adjective
  • /ˌɪməˈtʃʊr/
translation icon : inmaduro
  • Infants have an immature immune system and it takes a long time for them to fight off infections.
  • immature compost
  • immature stage
  • immature B cells

Those hairs are far too immature and the stem is too smooth.

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Examples

  • Her immature behavior during the meeting was surprising to everyone.

  • And no creature is more dependent, more vulnerable, more immature than a human infant compared to any other animal.

  • So the color of blue is associated with the meaning of immature or young.

  • I was an immature baby.

  • I was young and immature.

  • And the starting point was this very scared, immature, fragile kid.

  • It looks very young and quite immature for me personally.

  • Beyond them were rows of immature corn that looked bedraggled and stunted.

    Fiction book (1990)
  • Edgar's started out immature in the same way that I think Jonathan Safran Foer is, but he grew up.

  • The immature plant struggled to survive in the harsh winter conditions.

Synonyms

young
vsimmature
1.0

Not old and in an early stage of life

focuses more on lack of full development than on age alone
childish
vsimmature
141 2.8

Acting like a child instead of like an adult

refers instead to physical or general developmental incompleteness
green
vsimmature
67 2.1

Not fully ripe, as fruit or wood

applies to early development across objects and living things
juvenile
vsimmature
61 4.2

Acting in an immature or childish way

applies to people, animals, plants, and things, not only behaviour
adolescent
vsimmature
24 4.4

Showing immature or childish behavior

is about being not fully developed rather than teenage behaviour
infantile
vsimmature
21 6.5

Acting like a young child in a silly or immature way

is the broader developmental idea, not focused only on behaviour
nascent
vsimmature
  • Formal
16 8.1

Beginning to exist and showing signs of future growth

describes lacking full development without implying future promise
fledgling
vsimmature
15 6.4

Describes a person or organization that has little experience

covers early growth broadly, not only inexperience or newness
embryonic
vsimmature
4 7.2

At an early stage before a plan or project is fully ready

means general immaturity but not necessarily the first formation stage
undeveloped
vsimmature
3 4.2

Ideas or skills not fully formed and needing more work

is the broader general term for early growth stages
underdeveloped
vsimmature
3 4.3

Not grown enough to reach the normal size, skill, or quality

is the general idea of being not yet mature across contexts
unripe
vsimmature
3 2.7

Not fully grown and not ready to eat or use

is a general term for early growth not limited to produce readiness
embryotic
vsimmature
8.1

At an early stage, just beginning to form

covers early immaturity more broadly without stressing first formation
subadult
vsimmature
6.8

Not fully grown but almost mature

applies more widely to early stages beyond near‑adult phases
preadult
vsimmature
6.0

Not fully grown and still in an early life stage

is the broader label for incomplete development in general
unripened
vsimmature
4.2

Not fully grown and not ready to eat, like green fruit and vegetables

is broader, covering many kinds of incomplete development
unfledged
vsimmature
9.9

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

is the wider concept for early development beyond bird cases

Antonyms

64 3.4

Fully developed and ready to eat or use

How Mature

mature
64 3.4
immature
15 3.0
young
1.0

Surface Forms

immature positive
immaturer comparative
immaturest superlative

Morphology

immature = mature (transparent) = im + mature

The negative prefix 'im-' (in- assimilated before 'm') is added to 'mature' yielding the straightforward meaning 'not mature'.

Etymology

Immature comes from the parts im- 'not' and mature 'ripe' or 'fully grown'. So it describes something that is not fully developed, like unripe fruit, young animals, or wood that is not ready to use.