premature
🇬🇧 /ˌpriːməˈtʃʊə/
🇺🇸 /ˌpriːməˈtʃʊr/
📖 Definitions
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adjective
Occurring or done before the usual or proper time; too early.; Born before the normal period of gestation is complete; born before 37 weeks of pregnancy.; Happening or done too soon, especially before enough thought or preparation.; Of a person, developing or maturing earlier than usual.; Occurring or appearing before the expected or natural time; untimely.; Of hair, turning gray or white earlier than is typical.
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noun
A baby born before the normal period of gestation is complete; a premature infant.
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adjective
Of an explosion or detonation, occurring before the intended moment.
🔗 Details
Word forms
countable
Plural: prematures
Comparative: more premature
Superlative: most premature
Collocations
premature birthpremature babypremature deathpremature agingpremature ejaculationpremature optimization
Derivatives
prematurelyprematuritypreemie
Synonyms
earlyuntimelypretermprecociousahead of schedule
Antonyms
latetimelyoverdue
Commonly confused
preliminary
EN: 'Preliminary' means preparatory or preceding the main event; 'premature' means happening too early or before the appropriate time.
precocious
EN: 'Precocious' describes a child developing abilities earlier than usual (often positive); 'premature' simply means too early (often negative).
Spelling tips
EN: Remember the ending is '-ture' (as in 'mature'), not '-teur' or '-ture'. It shares its root with 'mature' (Latin 'maturus').
💬 Examples
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It would be premature to draw any conclusions at this stage.
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The baby was born premature at only 28 weeks.
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His announcement of victory was premature, as the votes were still being counted.
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She showed premature talent for mathematics at the age of five.
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The premature death of the king plunged the country into chaos.
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He developed premature gray hair in his twenties.
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The premature was kept in an incubator for several weeks.
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A premature explosion of the shell killed several soldiers.