Meaning & use

premature

adjective·Academic

Happening, arriving, or being done earlier than the normal, expected, or proper time.

See it in a sentence

The baby was born premature and spent two weeks in the hospital.

Celebrating before the final results were confirmed turned out to be premature.

A note on using this word

Premature often implies a judgment that something happened too soon to be wise or appropriate, not simply early.

Words with a similar meaning

earlyuntimely

Choose a synonym to suit the sentence. Meanings can overlap without being identical.

Words with an opposite meaning

lateoverdue

Make it your own

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