precocious

pre·co·cious

adj \pri-ˈkō-shəs\

Definition of PRECOCIOUS

1

: exceptionally early in development or occurrence <precocious puberty>

2

: exhibiting mature qualities at an unusually early age <a precocious child>

— pre·co·cious·ly adverb

— pre·co·cious·ness noun

— pre·coc·i·ty \pri-ˈkä-sə-tē\ noun

Examples of PRECOCIOUS

1. She was a precocious child who could read before she went to school.
2. A precocious musician, he was giving concerts when he was seven.
3. But what has paleontologists agog is this googol-granddaddy's precocious attributes: most notably the relative flatness of its face, which is more modern-looking than skulls half its age. —Fred Guterl, Newsweek, 22 July 2002
4. As a boy, I had caught eight-inch-long, juvenile “snapper” blues in Barnegat Bay and marveled at the uncommon strength and speed and the precocious attack instinct within their slender, silver bodies. —Pete Bodo, New York Times, 8 July 2001
5. … Columbus was still sailing the ocean blue and American English, frisky and rambunctious as a precocious child, was as yet unborn. —Sarah Lyall, New York Times, 10 Apr. 2000
6. … no longer certain that my blackness gave me precocious wisdom, or that I could outslick these folks … —Lorene Cary, Black Ice, 1991

Origin of PRECOCIOUS

Latin praecoc-, praecox early ripening, precocious, from prae- + coquere to cook — more at cook

First Known Use: 1650

Related to PRECOCIOUS

Synonyms: inopportune, early, premature, unseasonable, untimely

Antonyms: late

Related Words: unanticipated, unexpected, unforeseen, unlooked-for; abrupt, sudden

Near Antonyms: behindhand, belated, delinquent, latish, overdue, slow, tardy; anticipated, expected; delayed, detained, postponed

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Other Biology Terms

autochthonous, fecund, homunculus, phylogeny, substrate

Rhymes with PRECOCIOUS

atrocious, ferocious