precocious

adjective

pri-ˈkō-shəs How to pronounce precocious (audio)
Definition of precociousnext
as in early
occurring before the usual or expected time a precocious baldness makes him look older than he really is

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of precocious That precocious talent combines with her naturally confident disposition to create one fiery competitor. — Ava Wallace, New York Times, 5 July 2026 And Busch, the once-precocious-then-dominant-and-now-so-called-aging-giant of NASCAR, is laughing through his frustration. — Alex Zietlow, Charlotte Observer, 22 May 2026 That’s why my millennial children listen to that sixty-year-old music now, whereas, in 1964, only a precocious Mahler buff would have listened to the music of 1904. — Richard Brody, New Yorker, 21 June 2026 Photograph by Sébastien Leban for TIME France A talent out of the ordinary, precocious beyond doubt… Kylian Mbappé has all the qualities of a sage who seems to have already lived nearly everything by the age of 27. — Time, Time, 26 June 2026 See All Example Sentences for precocious
Recent Examples of Synonyms for precocious
  1. early
  2. premature
  3. unexpected
  4. sudden
  5. untimely
Adjective
  • All that to say, a glass of rye whiskey, one of the oldest drinks in America and the original base of many of our earliest cocktails like Manhattans and Old Fashioneds, is an easy way to honor the scrappy American spirit.
    — Mary Walrath-Holdridge, USA Today, 4 July 2026
  • Heck, the city almost lost out on Messi altogether, with Argentina barely escaping Cape Verde in an early knockout match Friday night.
    — Sam McDowell Updated July 3, Kansas City Star, 4 July 2026
Definition of early
Adjective
  • For now, the Census numbers indicate that calls predicting remote work’s demise may have been premature.
    — Marco Quiroz-Gutierrez, Fortune, 5 July 2026
  • The brand uses tetrahexyldecyl ascorbate, a gentle, stabilized form of vitamin C that brightens and protects against premature aging.
    — Reece Andavolgyi, InStyle, 4 July 2026
Definition of premature
Adjective
  • Artisan Market Thoughtful, small-batch cookies made with intention and inspired by unexpected flavors.
    — RS Editors, Rolling Stone, 2 July 2026
  • And while many know Mariska Hargitay from her decades-long run on Law & Order or as one of the Knicks' biggest hype women, she can also be considered among fashion's unexpected trendsetters.
    — Amanda Le, InStyle, 2 July 2026
Definition of unexpected
Adjective
  • Earthquakes' sudden, rapid shaking can cause fires, tsunamis, landslides or avalanches.
    — CA Earthquake Bot, Sacbee.com, 4 July 2026
  • Small Holes One sign of snakes in your garden could be the sudden appearance of small holes that could be about the size of a small coin, or up to two inches.
    — Ashley Chalmers, The Spruce, 3 July 2026
Definition of sudden
Adjective
  • The Kansas City Royals continue to be hamstrung untimely departures.
    — Kansas City Star, Kansas City Star, 3 July 2026
  • By the time season 6 rolled around, plenty of characters — major and minor — had met their untimely ends.
    — Ryan Coleman, Entertainment Weekly, 3 July 2026
Definition of untimely

Browse Nearby Words

precocial
precocious
precociously
See all Nearby Words

Podcast

Cite this Entry

“Precocious.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/precocious. Accessed 7 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation

More from Merriam-Webster on precocious

Nglish: Translation of precocious for Spanish Speakers

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Commonly Misspelled Words

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List

One-Word Oxymorons: Bittersweet, Spendthrift, and More

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
hangman letters and game
Hangman Lightning Round Figure out which word fits in the blanks.
See All