Meaning & use
fledgling
A young bird that has recently grown the feathers needed to fly, or a person or organization that is new and inexperienced.
See it in a sentence
The fledgling toppled out of the nest and hopped along the branch, testing its wings.
The fledgling company struggled to find investors during its first difficult year.
A note on using this word
Fledgling is frequently used as an adjective before a noun, as in a fledgling democracy or a fledgling business.
Words with a similar meaning
novicenewcomer
Choose a synonym to suit the sentence. Meanings can overlap without being identical.
Words with an opposite meaning
Another way to use it
2. adjective
New and still developing, without much experience yet.
The fledgling nation held its first free elections just two years after independence.
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