premature

adjective

pre·ma·ture ˌprē-mə-ˈchu̇r

-ˈchər,

also -ˈtu̇r,

-ˈtyu̇r

also ˌpre-

: happening, arriving, existing, or performed before the proper, usual, or intended time

especially : born after a gestation period of less than 37 weeks

premature babies

premature noun

prematurely adverb

prematureness noun

prematurity

ˌprē-mə-ˈchu̇r-ə-tē

-ˈchər

-ˈtu̇r-

-ˈtyu̇r-

noun

Example Sentences

Her premature death at age 30 stunned her family and friends. Too much exposure to the sun can cause the premature aging of skin.

Recent Examples on the Web Experts say any assumptions would be premature based on his daughter’s one-time appearance.

Michelle Ye Hee Lee, Washington Post, 21 Nov. 2022 The Florida Restaurant & Lodging Association said fines would be premature at a time when the focus needs to be on educating hotel managers and staff.

David Fleshler, Sun Sentinel, 20 Nov. 2022 Opponents argue that such a change would be premature; much remains unknown about atypical anorexia, including its brain biology, genetics and psychopathology, all of which could help inform treatment and the development of drugs.

Kate Siber, New York Times, 18 Oct. 2022 The researchers focused on this age group because the World Health Organization considers death from noncommunicable disease to be premature at those ages.

Aria Bendix, NBC News, 7 Nov. 2022 Writing off the Buccaneers may have been premature.

Jeremy Cluff, The Arizona Republic, 7 Nov. 2022 Silvera also said both sides' filings about the case assignment had been premature.

Kevin Mccoy, USA TODAY, 3 Nov. 2022 But in Maine, where the cold-water shrimp fishery is based, fishermen have tried to make the case that abundance of the shrimp is cyclical and any move to shutter the fishery for good is premature.

Patrick Whittle, Hartford Courant, 27 Oct. 2022 But in Maine, where the cold-water shrimp fishery is based, fishermen have tried to make the case that abundance of the shrimp is cyclical and any move to shutter the fishery for good is premature.

Patrick Whittle, Fortune, 27 Oct. 2022 See More

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'premature.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.