as in immature
lacking in adult experience or maturity
unripe and unprepared recruits who were sent into battle as cannon fodder
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Recent Examples of unripe
The aromatic base of Macabeo grapes gets its color from unripe green walnuts, macerated with 150 botanicals before being aged in oak for six months.
—
Joseph Hernandez, Bon Appetit Magazine, 21 Oct. 2025
How To Tell If an Avocado Is Ripe Eat avocados when ripe, not unripe or overripe.
—Heather Jones, Verywell Health, 18 Sep. 2025
The female bores into the fig to lay its eggs, which hatch out as larvae inside the fruit and eat the unripe insides before burrowing their way out.
—Nan Sterman, San Diego Union-Tribune, 2 Aug. 2025
Store unripe peaches at room temp in a single layer; refrigerate or freeze ripe ones to extend freshness.
—Katie Rosenhouse, Southern Living, 28 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for unripe
Joseph Hernandez, Bon Appetit Magazine, 21 Oct. 2025
How To Tell If an Avocado Is Ripe Eat avocados when ripe, not unripe or overripe.
—Heather Jones, Verywell Health, 18 Sep. 2025
The female bores into the fig to lay its eggs, which hatch out as larvae inside the fruit and eat the unripe insides before burrowing their way out.
—Nan Sterman, San Diego Union-Tribune, 2 Aug. 2025
Store unripe peaches at room temp in a single layer; refrigerate or freeze ripe ones to extend freshness.
—Katie Rosenhouse, Southern Living, 28 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for unripe
Recent Examples of Synonyms for unripe
Adjective
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Only this week, Conway doubled down with a stunt in front of Mfume’s district office, an act that would be immature and juvenile in an elementary school student government election, let alone a campaign for Congress.—
Bobby Zirkin,
Baltimore Sun,
30 Apr. 2026
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Faced with the prospect of deciding between Urlacher, a late bloomer in high school who almost wasn’t recruited before becoming a college All-American, and Michigan State receiver Plaxico Burress, regarded throughout the NFL as gifted but immature, the Bears did not have to choose.—
Kori Rumore,
Chicago Tribune,
27 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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Maybe the bright lights of a win-or-go-home playoff game proved too big of a moment for a young, inexperienced Hawks team.—
Kristian Winfield,
New York Daily News,
1 May 2026
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Edmonton showed off its postseason poise in Game 5, throttling the Ducks in a 4-1 victory and putting the onus on their inexperienced opponents to finish off the series.—
Greg Beacham,
Los Angeles Times,
1 May 2026
Adjective
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Even Michael’s social life is left blank, far beyond his adolescent solitudes.—
Richard Brody,
New Yorker,
23 Apr. 2026
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Relatedly, another study published Friday in JAMA Network Open found that rates of adolescent cannabis use increased after recreational use was legalized in California, but decreased after the Covid pandemic.—
Theresa Gaffney,
STAT,
20 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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His mom likes another young lady for her son, not my daughter.—
R. Eric Thomas,
Chicago Tribune,
30 Apr. 2026
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This particular adaptation bookends the story with the character Alba (played in young adulthood by Rocío Hernández), the granddaughter of the clairvoyant matriarch Clara del Valle (played in older age by Dolores Fonzi) and the conservative, volatile patriarch Esteban Trueba (Alfonso Herrera).—
Laura Zornosa,
Los Angeles Times,
29 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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Cottage cheese is a fresh, unripened cheese known for its mild and tangy flavor and distinctive curds.—
Daryl Austin,
USA Today,
29 July 2025
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Benin explains that Drizzle is made with small unripened olives, harvested in the fall before the rainy season in Spain, where the olives are sourced, so there’s minimal water and oil inside.—
Andrew Watman,
Forbes,
25 Feb. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Unripe.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/unripe. Accessed 3 May. 2026.
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