ripen
verb (used with or without object)
to make or become ripe.
had ripened
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past perfectof ripen.past perfect
Used to express a completed action that took place before another specific past action occurred.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
What had been a prediction had ripened into reality.
From New York Times ● Nov. 15, 2021
Once the bananas had ripened in New Jersey, they were loaded into trucks again.
From New York Times ● Aug. 4, 2017
Publicly, the Obama administration pointed to the evidence of chemical weapons use, which one senior administration official said had "ripened" in the last two weeks.
From Reuters ● Jun. 15, 2013
Forecasters had been warning of bad weather since last Wednesday and on Sunday said conditions had ripened for powerful tornadoes.
From Time ● May 20, 2013
There was a great deal of fruit that had ripened that day, but he found that he could think only of the bird and of how he would like to take the bird home.
From "The Girl Who Married a Lion: and Other Tales from Africa" by Alexander Mccall Smith
