Definition of Ripen

1. Verb. Cause to ripen or develop fully. "Age matures a good wine"

Exact synonyms: Mature
Generic synonyms: Alter, Change, Modify
Derivative terms: Maturement, Ripening

2. Verb. Grow ripe. "The plums ripen in July"
Generic synonyms: Grow, Maturate, Mature
Derivative terms: Ripening

Definition of Ripen

1. v. i. To grow ripe; to become mature, as grain, fruit, flowers, and the like; as, grapes ripen in the sun.

2. v. t. To cause to mature; to make ripe; as, the warm days ripened the corn.

Definition of Ripen

1. Verb. (intransitive) to grow ripe; to become mature, as in botany: grain, fruit, flowers, and the like; as, grapes ripen in the sun. ¹

2. Verb. (intransitive) To approach or come to perfection. ¹

3. Verb. (transitive) To cause to mature; to make ripe; as, the warm days ripened the corn. ¹

4. Verb. (transitive) To mature; to fit or prepare; to bring to perfection; as, to ripen the judgment. ¹

¹ Source: wiktionary.com

Definition of Ripen

1. to become ripe [v -ED, -ING, -S] - See also: ripe

Medical Definition of Ripen

1. 1. To grow ripe; to become mature, as grain, fruit, flowers, and the like; as, grapes ripen in the sun. 2. To approach or come to perfection. Origin: Ripened; Ripening. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998)

Lexicographical Neighbors of Ripen

riparian right
riparian wetland
riparians
riparious
ripazepam
ripcord
ripcords
ripe
ripe(p)
ripe cataract
ripe olive
ripeck
ripecks
riped
ripely
ripen (current term)
ripen up
ripened
ripener
ripeners
ripeness
ripenesses
ripening
ripenings
ripens
riper
ripers
ripes
ripest
ripidolite

Literary usage of Ripen

Below you will find example usage of this term as found in modern and/or classical literature:

1. The Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture: A Discussion for the Amateur, and by Liberty Hyde Bailey (1916)
"Vigorous trees that ripen their wood-growth early are best able to withstand low temperatures successfully. Trees that make a relatively late growth are, ..."

2. The Popular Science Monthly by Harry Houdini Collection (Library of Congress) (1886)
"only when the fruit begins to ripen and the calyx to assume its cha teristic shape, that they can be readily identified by safe specific mark Throughout, ..."

3. The Poet at the Breakfast-table: He Talks with His Fellow-boarders and the by Oliver Wendell Holmes (1891)
"... without any violent transition, grow and ripen into the devotion of later years. Believe me, Very sincerely yours, I have thought a good deal about this ..."

4. The Quarterly Review by William Gifford, John Taylor Coleridge, John Gibson Lockhart, Whitwell Elwin, William Macpherson, William Smith, John Murray, Rowland Edmund Prothero Ernle, George Walter Prothero (1902)
"And elsewhere Mr White adds: ' I should not be surprised to watch unpopularity ripen into jealousy, and even hate, among the common people. ..."

5. The Works of Robert Burns by Robert Burns (1877)
"... and die, and think it mine ! f " I burn, I burn, as when thro' ripen'd corn By driving winds the crackling flames are borne ;"J Now raving-wild, ..."

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