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Definition of "ripen" []

  • To make or become ripe or riper; mature. See Synonyms at mature. (verb-transitive)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Use "ripen" in a sentence
  • ""Though I have no illusions in the direction of expecting the fruit of general peace to ripen in a single night, I am nevertheless convinced that the fruit _has begun to ripen_, and that it is now only a question of holding out whether we are to obtain a general honourable peace or not."
  • "Wolfeboro is just about at the northern fringe of the climate where peaches will ripen, that is during favorable years in favored locations."
  • "But there is a kind of passivity, willingness to let experiences accumulate and sink in and ripen, which is an essential of development."