Entry Word: maturation

Function: noun

Meaning: the process of becoming mature <a flower's maturation from bud to full bloom can take weeks>

Synonyms development, growth, maturing, ripening

Related Words blossoming, flourishing, flowering; mellowing, softening

Near Antonyms decadence, decline, declining, deterioration; fading, shriveling, waning, wilting, withering; death, dying, expiring, perishing; regression, retrogression, reversion