Mature /(?)/

Ma·ture

Mature

a.
  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?
  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.
  3. Of or pertaining to a condition of full development; as, a man of mature years.
  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.

Mature

v. t.

imp. & p. p. Matured; p. pr. & vb. n. Maturing

  1. To bring or hasten to maturity; to promote ripeness in; to ripen; to complete; as, to mature one's plans.

Mature

v. i.
  1. To advance toward maturity; to become ripe; as, wine matures by age; the judgment matures by age and experience.
  2. Hence, to become due, as a note.