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immature Definition

im·ma·ture (im′ə to̵or′, -c̸ho̵or′, -tyo̵or′)

adjective

  1. not mature or ripe; not completely grown or developed
  2. not finished or perfected; incomplete
  3. lacking the emotional maturity, sense of responsibility, etc. characteristic of an adult
  4. Geol. worn down only slightly by erosion, as a land surface having steeply entrenched stream valleys that lack well-developed flood plains

Etymology: L immaturus

immature Related Forms
im′·ma·ture′ly adverb im′·ma·tu′·rity noun or im′·ma·ture′·ness
immature Synonyms

immature

modif.

youthful, sophomoric, half-grown; see childish 1, juvenile 1, naive, young 1, 2.

immature Usage Examples

Preposition: at

  • birth: Disease resistance The calf is born without any immunoglobulins and an immune system of its own that is very immature at birth.

Infinitive complement

  • make: Decisions to smoke may be made by people when they are children and too immature to make irrevocable decisions about smoking.

Modifies a noun

  • plumage: The male is MUCH smaller than its spouse and still has immature plumage.
  • oocyte: Maturation in vitro of immature oocytes has been achieved in small mammals, even from primordial follicles, using a number of methods.
  • fluke: The simultaneous migration of large numbers of immature fluke through the liver can cause severe tissue damage.
  • gull: My attention was grabbed by an immature gull about Herring Gull size which had pure white primaries.
  • compost: Anaerobic pockets are therefore much less likely to occur in bags than in stockpiles of immature composts, except in large stacks of bags.
  • male: For the most part, they were immature males, with an average length of 4.5m.

Modifying Another Word

  • spiritually: I reason with myself in such a foolish and spiritually immature manner.
  • emotionally: He is, after all, an emotionally immature eight year old boy, or at least programmed to act like one.
  • sexually: One female increased weight by 1.6 kg in 9 months, another sexually immature female increased weight by 4.3 kg in 13 months.
  • relatively: Problems The technology used here is still relatively immature.
  • too: I think we were both just too immature at the beginning.
  • slightly: Firm, slightly immature fruits are best for making pies or tarts.

Used with adjective complement

  • remain: Without completion of all the processes, the compost remains immature.
  • seem: Maybe they seem immature, or are unwilling to start new tasks without direct supervision.
  • stay: You are only young once, but you can stay immature indefinitely.
  • appear: She smoked in public so as not to appear immature.
  • eat: Courgettes are really just a highly selected form of summer squash whose fruit are picked continuously and eaten immature.
  • sound: I am a young student, so please forgive me if my questions sound immature.