precocious

[ pri-koh-shuhs ]

/ prɪˈkoʊ ʃəs /

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See synonyms for precocious on Thesaurus.com

adjective

unusually advanced or mature in development, especially mental development: a precocious child.

prematurely developed, as the mind, faculties, etc.

of or relating to premature development.

Botany.

flowering, fruiting, or ripening early, as plants or fruit.
bearing blossoms before leaves, as plants.
appearing before leaves, as flowers.

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His boss, whom he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

His boss, who he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

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Origin of precocious

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

OTHER WORDS FROM precocious

pre·co·cious·ly, adverbpre·co·cious·ness, nounun·pre·co·cious, adjectiveun·pre·co·cious·ly, adverb

un·pre·co·cious·ness, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use precocious in a sentence

Woods participated in that December event alongside his 11-year-old son, Charlie, who wowed onlookers with his precocious skill.
Tiger Woods undergoes back surgery again and is sidelined for at least several weeks|Des Bieler|January 20, 2021|Washington Post
The boom has come about because of the dedicated pitmasters and because of newcomers to the scene, three of whom made this list on their first attempt, including a precocious husband-and-wife team that debuted at No.
The best barbecue joints in the D.C. area|Tim Carman|November 10, 2020|Washington Post
The film highlights four characters from the 2018 class, all of whom share an intense, precocious passion for politics but come from very different backgrounds—and often embrace opposing ideologies.
Everything Our Editors Loved in October|The Editors|November 3, 2020|Outside Online
This will be salutary, and will deflate some of the pomposity-born-of-precociousness that bedevils Obama.
10 Truths About the British Vote|Tunku Varadarajan|May 5, 2010|DAILY BEAST

Is not its seeming wisdom rather the precociousness of what is destined never to go far?
The Soul of the Far East|Percival Lowell
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.
The Flying U's Last Stand|B. M. Bower
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

ahead in development, such as the mental development of a child

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

Derived forms of precocious

precociously, adverbprecociousness or precocity (prɪˈkɒsɪtɪ), noun

Word Origin for precocious

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

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