different between immature vs frivolous

English

Etymology

From Middle French immature. Partially displaced unripe, from Old English unr?pe (“unripe, immature”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?m??tj??(?)/, /?m??t???(?)/, /?m??t??(?)/
• Rhymes: -??(?)

Adjective

immature (comparative more immature, superlative most immature)

1. (now rare) Occurring before the proper time; untimely, premature (especially of death). [from 16th c.]
   • 1748, Samuel Richardson, Clarissa, Letter 481:

     And thou also canst best account for the causes of her immature death […] .

2. Not fully formed or developed; not grown. [from 17th c.]
3. Childish in behavior; juvenile. [from 20th c.]
   • Wilhelm Stekel - As quoted in The Catcher in the Rye (1951) by J. D. Salinger.

Synonyms

• (childish in behavior): infantile, milky; see also Thesaurus:childish

Translations

Noun

immature (plural immatures)

1. An immature member of a species.

Related terms

• mature
• immaturity

French

Adjective

immature (plural immatures)

1. immature, unripe

German

Pronunciation

Adjective

immature

1. inflection of immatur:
   1. strong/mixed nominative/accusative feminine singular
   2. strong nominative/accusative plural
   3. weak nominative all-gender singular
   4. weak accusative feminine/neuter singular

Italian

Adjective

immature

1. feminine plural of immaturo

Anagrams

• ammutire

Latin

Adjective

imm?t?re

1. vocative masculine singular of imm?t?rus

References

• immature in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• immature in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré Latin-Français, Hachette

English

Etymology

From Latin fr?volus (“silly, empty, trifling, frivolous, worthless”), with the ending modified to match -ous.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?f??v.?l.?s/
• Hyphenation: friv?o?lous

Adjective

frivolous (comparative more frivolous, superlative most frivolous)

1. Silly, especially at an inappropriate time or in an inappropriate manner.
2. Of little weight or importance; not worth notice; slight.
3. (law, said of a lawsuit) Having no reasonable prospect of success because its claim is without merit, lacking a supporting legal or factual basis, while the filing party is, or should be, aware of this.
   • 2005, Factcheck.org^[1]:

     One of the major cost drivers in the delivery of health care are these junk and frivolous lawsuits.

Derived terms

• frivolent
• frivolously
• frivolousness

Related terms

• frivol
• frivolity

Translations

Further reading

• frivolous in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• frivolous in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.