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Definition of maturity

Examples of maturity in a sentence.

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'maturity.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Dictionary Entries Near maturity

maturity of chances

Cite this Entry

“Maturity.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary , Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/maturity. Accessed 30 Apr. 2024.

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Kids definition of maturity, medical definition, medical definition of maturity, legal definition, legal definition of maturity, more from merriam-webster on maturity.

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What It Really Means to Be Mature

It starts with taking responsibility when things go wrong..

Posted April 17, 2022 | Reviewed by Devon Frye

• Medical science has shown that adolescence continues into one’s 20s when the frontal lobe fully comes on board by age 26.
• In order to navigate committed relationships and marriage, we must first grow ourselves up.
• Exploring how one cuts off others, creates relationship triangles, and resists conformity or groupthink displays emotional maturity.
• Taking responsibility for one’s missteps is a hallmark of maturity; crafting villains into one’s story with finger-pointing is the opposite.

Commencement speeches provide wisdom to graduates of all ages. With this passage, we often assume that those donning caps and gowns have it all together as they embark upon higher education or leave for promising careers.

Not so fast. As a topic, maturity is debated in the medical literature since neuroimaging shows that the brain matures well into one’s 20s. The frontal lobe, governing executive functions like working memory , impulse and self-control , planning, and time management , is among the last brain area to mature. 1 This occurs typically around age 26.

Other studies have considered having different ages of majority, depending upon legal issues, as being truer to the developmental science than one set age for all matters. One boundary could apply where there is emotional arousal, time pressure, and coercion whereas another is designated for those aged 18 and older where psychosocial immaturity compromises judgment. 2

Defining Maturity

According to Merriam Webster, maturity means adulthood and full development. Unofficially, many adults who read the sage words of the late advice columnist Ann Landers may remember the column titled "Maturity," easily found in an online search. 3 In that classic prose, Landers wrote that people display maturity in patience, perseverance, decision-making , dependability, self-control, and humility; that is, the ability to admit simply “I was wrong.”

In 2013, Washington Post columnist Carolyn Hax wrote about how to be one’s best self. She posed a probing list of questions including: Do you realize that your needs have the same status as everyone else’s? And that you’re not the hero in every encounter with others? 4

During the global pandemic, Kathleen Smith, Ph.D., wrote “Telling A Story Without Villains” in which she reports that the focus on other vs. self leads to rigid, reactive behavior and tossing immaturity back at others. 5 “Staying stuck in a narrow framework of right and wrong, of hero and villain,” she says, “doesn’t free you up to think creatively about the problem and your part in the solution.”

Never Too Old to Grow Up

Jenny Brown, MSW, writes in Growing Yourself Up: How to Bring Your Best to All of Life’s Relationships that the overriding question remains: Am I up for addressing the immature part I’m playing in relationships? 6 “Seeing what we need to change about our unhelpful reactions, and working on them in the world of relationships, creates positive rippled effects into the systems we’re part of,” Brown writes. “It can even ripple into future generations.”

In what Brown dubs the “change and blame dance,” she reports, “When we’re finding fault with others, we stop working on ourselves. Our growing gets stuck in the blame rut.”

Brown’s book presents maturity through the lifespan from young adulthood to middle age—with discussions of sex , marriage , separation, and divorce —to one’s older years facing mortality. She does this through a Bowen family systems lens.

Family Systems Front and Center

Our families of origin serve as a relationship template. It’s where we learn how to be and think and what the roles of husband, wife, father, and mother look like.

In 2018, Roberta Gilbert, M.D., updated her classic book The Eight Concepts of Bowen Theory— which I often point therapy clients to, to obtain a quick understanding of the nuclear family emotion system, family projection , and multigenerational transmission (of anxiety ), sibling position, cutoff, triangles, and differentiation of self. 7 Differentiation means how susceptible one is to family of origin conformity and groupthink . 8

Dr. Gilbert writes that feelings will come and go, but learning to be more thoughtful over the life course and learning to see the family as an emotional unit, not the individuals, is best. Thinking systems, and working on one’s self where one has that control rather than finger-pointing and insisting others change, which is typically futile and out of one’s ability to change—that’s the work to be done. Hence, an emotional maturity measure.

Key Behaviors That Show Maturity

The list below succinctly explains many family systems tenets:

• Think “How do we all impact one another?” rather than “Why can’t that person…”
• Resist the childish impulse to blame others when things don’t go well in life.
• Do not over-function for others, for extended periods. Practice true help by setting them on an independent and successful path.
• See triangles form, and recognize how futile they are in any group or family. This prevents immaturity pitfalls and aids problem-solving between the two people who need to work things out.
• Realize that relationships are much like geometry: the closest distance between two points is a straight line, not through a third party.
• Refrain from fault-finding but consider your own role and how you’ve contributed to any upset. Take responsibility for it and work on yourself to prevent the dynamic in the future.
• Keep from being a chameleon shifting views to curry favor with others. Know your values and be principled in your decisions. Counseling sessions can help people identify these so that they don’t indecisively fence sit.
• Summon your best maturity skills for committed relationships, especially marriage. If one party acts childishly through passive aggression , under-functioning, pettiness, blame, or defensiveness, therapy should be sought.
• Resist settling for less. Mature adults consciously work on becoming better humans, partners, lovers, and parents, regardless of age. Finding this won’t be easy but worth it in the long run.

Copyright © 2022 by Loriann Oberlin, MS

See also: Dating & Mating Characteristics and Speaking Up When Stressed

1. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2892678/ and https://www.businessinsider.com/age-brain-matures-at-everything-2017-11

2. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6551607/

3. https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1999-07-17-9907170129-story.html

4. https://www.washingtonpost.com/advice/2013/12/13/carolyn-hax-defining-best-self/

5. https://kathleensmith.net/2020/05/20/telling-a-story-without-villains/

6. https://tinyurl.com/Growing-Yourself-Up

7. w ww.loriannoberlin.com/books

8. https://www.thebowencenter.org/differentiation-of-self

Loriann Oberlin, MS, LCPC, is a clinical counselor and co-author of books including Overcoming Passive-Aggression.

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Home — Essay Samples — Psychology — Maturity — The Importance Of Maturity

The Importance of Maturity

• Categories: Emotional Intelligence Maturity Responsibility

About this sample

Words: 591 |

Published: Mar 19, 2024

Words: 591 | Page: 1 | 3 min read

Table of contents

Introduction, 1. developing emotional intelligence, 2. taking responsibility, 3. cultivating self-awareness, 4. navigating complex situations, 5. fostering meaningful relationships.

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25 Maturity Examples

Maturity is a trait where a person has the experience and wisdom to behave in a resolved, resolute, and secure way.

Maturity is about wisdom . It usually comes after a lot of introspection , philosophical thinking, failure, and learned humility.

Society has developmental markers for maturity (e.g. age 18 to vote). Nevertheless, it’s a more fluid cultural concept than that. Maturity is not only about age. Many adults are immature—we might say that some adults behave childishly or immaturely.

Below are some examples of maturity, starting with the five indicators of maturity proposed by Todres (2011).

Todres’ Five Indicators of Maturity

• Political participation– If a person is able to cogently participate in political debate then they are considered mature (and therefore should be allowed to vote).
• Independent economic power – A mature person should be able to work to earn a living, so long as they’re not prohibited by factors outside of their control such as a disability.
• Responsibility and accountability – A mature person should be responsible. As a result, they should also be able to be held responsible for their actions in court.
• Bodily integrity – A mature person should be able to care for their own body, and also have the right to control their own body.
• Family rights – A mature person should be able to care for their family, and therefore have the right to start a family if they so desire.

Maturity Examples in Everyday Life

• Controlling your urges
• Having clear priorities in life
• Accepting your faults and failings
• Being trustworthy with valuable things
• Using risk assessment effectively
• Being able to think ethically
• Diffusing rather than escalating conflicts
• Respect for others
• Tolerance of difference
• Taking the high road
• Knowing when to back down for your own good
• Accepting loss gracefully
• Being a graceful winner
• Being pragmatic to gradually move toward your goals
• Accepting some things are out of your control
• Understanding you can’t know everything
• Being able to acknowledge when you’re wrong
• Developing humility
• Being self-reliant
• Developing your own morals rather than following your parents blindly
• Using past experiences to inform present action
• Overcoming egotism of childhood
• Listening to others who you disagree with respectfully
• Exercising patience with others
• Delayed gratification

Detailed Examples

1. being disciplined to control urges.

A mature individual has self-control , and this virtue applies to many circumstances. The ability to control one’s urges means that the person is behaving rationally and with good reason—not based on emotions.

For example, a mature person can control their temper and not engage in meaningless arguments.

Another example is being able to resist buying something on a whim. Children and teenagers typically do not have this self-control—they often take what they want without thinking of the consequences because they lack maturity.

2. Knowing Your Priorities in Life

Mature people know what matters most, and they have the sense to line up things in the proper order of importance. They are good at prioritization because they know what matters.

In addition, mature people understand that resources are finite so they need to forego some things to have the more important things in life.

Since resources are finite, mature individuals know that they must not spend on unimportant things when there are bills that need to get paid. They also know how to use their time wisely. Children, for example, will typically play first before doing their homework—mature individuals do it the other way around. 

3. Being Aware of One’s Strengths and Weaknesses

Self-awareness is an important indicator of maturity. A person who knows his or her strengths and weaknesses can gauge situations and make smart decisions.

Children usually make decisions out of fear—but then they jump and run and get hurt because they do not know what their limitations are.

Mature individuals understand the things they can do well and what they are not good at. As such, they can take appropriate action to learn more before taking on a new job or taking a business risk. 

4. Understanding the Value of Risk Assessment

Children have poor risk assessment skills. For example, they will cross the road and even bother about incoming vehicles. Mature individuals must have already learned from their experiences and use these experiences to assess risks.

As a mature person, you must consider the possible consequences of your actions. The potential negative consequences are the “risks” from certain tasks.

This doesn’t mean not taking risks. Rather, it means taking measured risks and having a good sense of when a risk is worthwhile and when it is not.

It is why mature people walk away from a fight or attempt to de-escalate arguments—they know it is not worth it based on a mature risk assessment.

5. Ability to Bounce Back or Be Resilient

Resiliency is the ability to return to a normal state of mind after a devastating blow. Life is not always favorable, and mature people know this.

Staying down after a disappointment can be an indication that a person is not mature enough to recover from difficulties. Of course, this does not include mental illnesses like depression which need to be considered separately.

Mature individuals can suffer from a setback, like losing in a game or not getting a promotion, and bounce back from this failure to move on and become a stronger person. 

6. The Capacity to Respect Others

Ignorance is a sign of immaturity. Being able to respect anyone despite their ethnicity, gender, religion, or political views is a sign that you have had enough experience to understand the diversity and intrinsic value of all human beings.

Maturity happens because of exposure to a wide range of people in life. It comes from knowing that you cannot control what people believe in, that people are different, and that we should be tolerant of one another if we want peace.

Immature people insist that they are always right. It is always about them—they have a feeling of delusional superiority.

7. Being Able to Take the High Road

Taking the high road means doing the right thing even when there is a temptation not to. Taking the high road is a sign of maturity because you’re standing by your moral code when others may not.

For example, a mature individual knows how to apologize if she makes a mistake.She stays true to her moral code.

Immature people will not do this—how could they when their pride sets aside their morality?

Taking the high road also means not engaging in useless and meaningless arguments. Sometimes, it is better to let things go rather than dig in and cause trouble.

8. The Competence to be Pragmatic

Pragmatism is a thought process where you want to get things done even if the outcome isn’t your ideal. Pragmatists take action. 

A mature individual knows that not everything in life is handed on a silver spoon. Things get tough and unfavorable. Being a pragmatic individual means you try to find ways to make turn things around to make things a little better – step by step.

In youth, we’re often idealists . We want the world to be a certain way and we’re uncompromising in our pursuit of our ideals. But as we gain experience, we realize why the world isn’t the way we want it to be. Instead, we learn that progress toward our ideals is slow and arduous. That’s where pragmatic action comes in.

See Also: Competence Examples

9. The Power to be Self-Reliant

Self-reliance is a sure sign of maturity—even animals are able to fend for themselves eventually. Of course, this example does not include people who have special needs.

Self-reliance means you can manage your own affairs. You no longer need support and guidance for basic needs. A mature person knows how to care for themself, find a job, and solve problems

. It is the self-reliant people who also often solves the problems of other people (and it is why they often get paid a high salary).

10. Acceptance of Things Beyond your Control

Mature individuals resign to the fact that not everything in life is within their control. So, instead of lamenting this, a mature individual has the strength to know what they can change and the wisdom to know what they can’t.

For example, in your early life, you might strive pointlessly to figure out how to live forever. But as you gain knowledge and experience, you realize that this is something outside of your control. Instead, you can make the most of your years by eating healthily, keeping a regular sleep routine, and exercising.

Here, you’ve graduated from an idealistic sense of being able to fix the world into a more mature sense of what you can realistically do for yourself and your community.

Maturity comes with experience. To become mature, one has to be rational—one has to be a thinker. Being emotional about things will not bring about maturity.

Of course, being impatient about achieving maturity is immaturity by itself. You must allow time to take you there—and ensure that you always approach things with a reasonable mind.

Todres, J. (2011). Maturity.  Hous. L. REv. ,  48 , 1107. See: https://heinonline.org/hol-cgi-bin/get_pdf.cgi?handle=hein.journals/hulr48&section=41

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Definition of maturity noun from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

• He has maturity beyond his years.
• Her poems show great maturity.
• She has shown great maturity in her behaviour this term.
• demonstrate

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Meaning of maturity in English

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maturity noun [U] ( MENTAL DEVELOPMENT )

• an old/a wise head on young shoulders idiom
• over-mature
• precociously
• precociousness

maturity noun [U] ( FULL GROWTH )

Maturity noun [u] ( finance ).

• bet big on something/someone idiom
• co-investor
• discretionary
• divestiture
• microfinance
• pay something in
• pension plan
• plough into something/someone
• pump something into something

You can also find related words, phrases, and synonyms in the topics:

maturity | American Dictionary

Maturity noun [u] ( physical growth ), maturity | business english, examples of maturity, collocations with maturity.

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Translations of maturity

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• maturity (MENTAL DEVELOPMENT)
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• maturity (FINANCE)
• maturity (PHYSICAL GROWTH)
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