premature

adjective

ˌprē-mə-ˈchu̇r How to pronounce premature (audio)
Definition of prematurenext
as in early
occurring before the usual or expected time his premature arrival at his own surprise party almost ruined everything

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of premature Engineers often limit their performance to prevent damage or premature failure. — Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 27 Aug. 2026 The high court majority found the initial Democratic lawsuit was premature, but that was before the Republican administration issued a rule governing Postal Service delivery of mail ballots. — Nicholas Riccardi, Los Angeles Times, 26 Aug. 2026 Attorneys representing the Texas Governor’s Office said the governor has not yet officially decided to deny or grant Minnesota’s extradition request and therefore the lawsuit is premature. — ABC News, 26 Aug. 2026 What began as a support group has grown into a national nonprofit that provides education, care packages, family resources and long-term guidance for Black families who welcome premature babies. — Cathie Anderson, Sacbee.com, 26 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for premature
Recent Examples of Synonyms for premature
  1. early
  2. untimely
  3. unexpected
  4. sudden
  5. precocious
  6. inopportune
Adjective
  • The extremely small separation between the two graphene systems allowed the screening effect to be much stronger than in earlier experiments.
    — Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 5 Sep. 2026
  • Prosecutors say Castro briefly struggled with Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis, then fired through a front door into an occupied home, hitting him in the leg, contradicting earlier federal accounts.
    — Valerie Gonzalez, Los Angeles Times, 4 Sep. 2026
Definition of early
Adjective
  • Their family heritage dictates that any man an Owens woman truly loves will die an untimely death.
    — Raechal Shewfelt, Entertainment Weekly, 27 Aug. 2026
  • Letter writer finds even the relationship with other siblings hard to manage after sister’s untimely death.
    — Carolyn Hax, Washington Post, 23 Aug. 2026
Definition of untimely
Adjective
  • Alongside grapefruit and bergamot, an Earl Grey tea accord adds unexpected warmth.
    — Conçetta Ciarlo, Vogue, 3 Sep. 2026
  • An unexpected benefit of this process is that its solid carbon byproduct turned out to be graphite, a material used in batteries and electrodes that the US currently imports.
    — Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 3 Sep. 2026
Definition of unexpected
Adjective
  • And at the end of it all, a euphoric fan base, tipsy with its sudden reversal of fortune, belted out a 1976 Abba song in South Florida.
    — Dana O’Neil, CNN Money, 4 Sep. 2026
  • The model is pulled in ten different directions by different internal product teams, resulting in an interface that suffers from sudden behavioral resets and an inability to smoothly execute complex, multi-turn human requests.
    — New Atlas, New Atlas, 4 Sep. 2026
Definition of sudden
Adjective
  • Espada inserted him in place of Cam Smith, the precocious young talent still struggling to harness consistency at the major-league level.
    — Chandler Rome, New York Times, 31 Aug. 2026
  • Rota was a precocious musical talent who studied with Ildebrando Pizzetti, Alfredo Casella and Rosario Scalero before turning his attention to cinema.
    — SPIN Staff, SPIN, 27 Aug. 2026
Definition of precocious
Adjective
  • Knowing how to recognize the signs that your water heater is nearing the end of its lifespan can save you from an inconvenient breakdown (or worse, water damage) at an inopportune moment.
    — Jamie Cuccinelli, Martha Stewart, 24 Aug. 2026
  • The accusation comes at an inopportune time, when Microsoft is trying to optimize Windows 11 for 8GB of RAM and PC makers are developing less expensive hardware to compete with Apple’s MacBook Neo.
    — Chris Hoffman, PC Magazine, 19 Aug. 2026
Definition of inopportune

Browse Nearby Words

premarital
premature
prematurely
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Premature.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/premature. Accessed 5 Sep. 2026.

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