Precocious
[prɪ'kəʊʃəs] or [prɪ'koʃəs]
Definition
(adj.) appearing or developing early; 'precocious flowers appear before the leaves as in some species of magnolias' .
(adj.) characterized by or characteristic of exceptionally early development or maturity (especially in mental aptitude); 'a precocious child'; 'a precocious achievement' .
Checker: Marty--From WordNet
Definition
(a.) Ripe or mature before the proper or natural time; early or prematurely ripe or developed; as, precocious trees.
(a.) Developed more than is natural or usual at a given age; exceeding what is to be expected of one's years; too forward; -- used especially of mental forwardness; as, a precocious child; precocious talents.
Checked by Danny
Synonyms and Synonymous
a. Premature (especially in mental development), too forward.
Typist: Willard
Synonyms and Antonyms
SYN:Premature, predeveloped, overforward
ANT:Tardy, backward, slow-growing, crude
Typist: Ollie
Definition
adj. having the mind developed very early or too early: premature: forward: (bot.) appearing before the leaves.—adv. Precō′ciously.—ns. Precō′ciousness Precoc′ity state or quality of being precocious: too early ripeness of the mind.
Edited by Ervin
Examples
- You precocious chick! Louisa May Alcott. Little Women.
- He was precocious to an extraordinary degree, for in 1895, when only twenty-one, he had produced a wireless transmitting apparatus that he patented in Italy. Rupert S. Holland. Historic Inventions.
- She spoke as though she were talking to a precocious child. Hemingway, Ernest. For Whom The Bell Tolls.
- I was a precocious actress in her eyes; she sincerely looked on me as a compound of virulent passions, mean spirit, and dangerous duplicity. Charlotte Bronte. Jane Eyre.
- The same little space a few feet square was soon converted by this precocious youth into a newspaper office. Frank Lewis Dyer. Edison, His Life and Inventions.
- Mr. Stryver laughed till he shook his precocious paunch. Charles Dickens. A Tale of Two Cities.
- Uncle Benjamin, who did not e migrate till much later, showed interest in his precocious namesake. Walter Libby. An Introduction to the History of Science.
- Cheered by this prospect, the precocious boy applied himself to his infantile treadmill, with increased vigour. Charles Dickens. The Pickwick Papers.
Edited by Ervin