ripe

ripe [rīp]

adj.

riper, ripest [OE, akin to REAP]

1. fully grown or developed; specif., ready to be harvested and used for food, as grain or fruit

2. like ripe fruit, as in being ruddy and full [ripe lips]

3. sufficiently advanced, as by being kept in storage or subjected to treatment, to be ready for use [ripe wine, ripe cheese]

4. fully or highly developed by study, experience, etc.; mature as in judgment, knowledge, etc. [ripe wisdom]

5.

a) characterized by full physical or mental development [a person of ripe years]

b) advanced in years [the ripe age of ninety]

6. ready to do, receive, or undergo something; fully prepared [ripe for marriage]

7. ready for some operation, treatment, or process [a boil ripe for lancing]

8. sufficiently advanced; far enough along (for some purpose): said of time

9. having a strong, unpleasant smell

ripely

adv.

ripeness

n.

SYN.- RIPE, in its basic application, implies readiness to be harvested, eaten, used, etc. [ripe apples, cheese, etc. ] and, in extended use, full readiness for action, etc. [ripe for change ]; MATURE implies full growth or development, as of living organisms, the mind, etc. [a mature tree, mature judgment ]; MELLOW suggests the qualities typical of ripe fruit, such as softness, sweetness, etc. and therefore stresses the absence of sharpness, harshness, etc. [a mellow flavor, mood, etc. ]; ADULT is applied to a person who has reached complete physical or mental maturity, or legal majority, and to ideas, etc. that show mature thinking

-ANT. UNRIPE, IMMATURE