Spelling of Immature: Immature is spelled i-m-m-a-t-u-r-e.
Definition of Immature: Immature means the lack of complete growth or development. It also refers to someone who exhibits a lower level of maturity than expected.
Pronunciation of Immature: Immature is pronounced two different ways: im-a-chur and im-a-toor.
How to Use Immature in a Sentence
What does immature mean? Immature is an adjective most often used to describe someone who acts in a childish or less mature way than expected of their age.
It also refers to something or someone that is not fully developed, grown, or ripe.
For example,
- The teacher expressed his concerns about the student’s immature behavior to the student’s parents.
- Beside the full and blooming plant stood its immature offspring, barely half the size.
The adverb, immaturely, is formed by adding “-ly” to immature. Immaturely describes one’s action(s) as being immature or childish.
For example,
- He immaturely mocked and imitated the younger students before laughing and walking away with his friends.
- She behaved immaturely the entire time so she will not be coming to another performance with me until she can act her age.
The noun is formed by dropping the “-e” and adding “-ity” to the end of immature.
For example,
- We broke up due to his extreme immaturity for his age.
- Though the dog was large in size, her clumsiness and never-ending desire to play showed her immaturity,
History & Etymology of Immature
The first known use of immature was in 1548, according to Merriam-Webster’s.
This word comes from the Latin word immaturus, in-, not, + maturus, meaning mature.
Synonyms for Immature
There are several synonyms for the word immature. Depending on which definition of the word is intended, there are different words from which to choose. However, there are a few words that can be used for both.
When referring to someone or something that is in its early stages of life and not fully developed, the following synonyms can be used to replace immature:
- Adolescent
- Young
- Juvenile
- Youngish
- Youthful
When describing one’s behavior as silly, childish, or lacking maturity, the following words can be used to replace immature:
- Adolescent
- Babyish
- Childish
- Infantile
- Juvenile
- Kiddish
Outside Examples of Immature
- From his home and on a friendly network, Rush Limbaugh lobbed pot shots across the airwaves Sunday at President Barack Obama — “immature, inexperienced, in over his head,” offering the country “radical leadership” and laying siege to the economy. – Newsday
- She identified him as a Cooper’s Hawk (Accipiter cooperii). Apparently, an immature Cooper’s Hawk, based on this description from Wikipedia. – Houston Chronicle
Summary
Immature is an adjective used to describe someone or something that is not fully grown or developed, or someone who acts childish and without a normal level of maturity.
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