precocious

[ pri-koh-shuhs ]
See synonyms for precocious on Thesaurus.com
adjective
  1. unusually advanced or mature in development, especially mental development: a precocious child.

  2. prematurely developed, as the mind, faculties, etc.

  1. of or relating to premature development.

  2. Botany.

    • flowering, fruiting, or ripening early, as plants or fruit.

    • bearing blossoms before leaves, as plants.

    • appearing before leaves, as flowers.

Origin of precocious

1
1640–50; Latin praecoci-, stem of praecox (see precocity) + -ous

Other words from precocious

  • pre·co·cious·ly, adverb
  • pre·co·cious·ness, noun
  • un·pre·co·cious, adjective
  • un·pre·co·cious·ly, adverb
  • un·pre·co·cious·ness, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use precocious in a sentence

  • That it should be practicable thus to entrust one infant to another proves the precociousness of children.

    The Soul of the Far East | Percival Lowell
  • He had laughed with the others at the Kid's quaint precociousness of speech and at his frank worship of range men and range life.

  • He was unusually bright, and gave promise, in his deportment and youthful precociousness, of reaching a splendid manhood.

    A Prince of Anahuac | James A. Porter
  • He had seen in her precociousness, her healthy delight in books, nothing astonishing, and he had known nothing of her scribbling.

    Otherwise Phyllis | Meredith Nicholson

British Dictionary definitions for precocious

precocious

/ (prɪˈkəʊʃəs) /


adjective
  1. ahead in development, such as the mental development of a child

  2. botany (of plants, fruit, etc) flowering or ripening early

Origin of precocious

1
C17: from Latin praecox early maturing, from prae early + coquere to ripen

Derived forms of precocious

  • precociously, adverb
  • precociousness or precocity (prɪˈkɒsɪtɪ), noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for precocious

precocious

[ prĭ-kōshəs ]


  1. Relating to or having flowers that blossom before the leaves emerge. Some species of magnolias are precocious.

The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.