4 syllables: Ma, tur, i, ty. Stress on tur.
muh-CHUUR-uh-tee
/məˈtʃʊɹəti/
Maturity is pronounced muh-CHUUR-uh-tee (/məˈtʃʊɹəti/). It has four syllables (Ma-tur-i-ty), with the stress on "tur". Maturity is the state or quality of being fully grown or developed, often reflecting psychological, emotional, or social development. It denotes readiness for adult responsibilities and wise judgment gained through experience. In many contexts, maturity contrasts with youth, immaturity, or naiveté, and it can describe both people and phenomena that have reached a stable, fully-formed condition.
nounMaturity is the state or quality of being fully grown or developed, often reflecting psychological, emotional, or social development. It denotes readiness for adult responsibilities and wise judgment gained through experience. In many contexts, maturity contrasts with youth, immaturity, or naiveté, and it can describe both people and phenomena that have reached a stable, fully-formed condition.
"Her maturity showed in how calmly she handled the difficult decision."
"The project's maturity means it has passed the initial testing phase and is ready for broader deployment."
"Financial maturity refers to the point at which a loan or investment reaches its full payoff."
Pronounce as mah-CHOOR-ih-tee in US and UK spellings, with primary stress on the second syllable: ma-TU-ri-ty. IPA: US /məˈtʃuː.rə.ti/ or /məˈtʃʊər.ɪ.ti/; UK /məˈtjʊə.rɪ.ti/; AU /məˈtʃuː.rɪ.ti/. Focus on the stressed /ˈtʃuː/ or /ˈtjʊə/ vowel in the second syllable, and keep the final “ty” as /ti/. Audio reference: you can listen to the pronunciation in dictionaries or Forvo entries for maturity.
Common errors include: 1) misplacing the primary stress on the first or third syllable (ma-TU-ri-ty is essential); 2) pronouncing the second syllable as a short /ə/ rather than a clear /uː/ or /ʊə/ quality (you should hear a diphthong in the /tuː/ or /tjʊə/ part); 3) ending with a clipped /ti/ instead of a longer /tiː/ in slower speech. Correct by practicing the full three-syllable rhythm and using a clear /uː/ in the second syllable.
In US English, the second syllable often carries a strong /ˈtʃuː/ or /ˈtʃʊə/ sound with a light R in rhotic accents; UK often uses /ˈtjʊə.rɪ.ti/ with a non-rhotic R and a tighter /tjʊə/ diphthong; Australian tends to a longer, rounded /ˈtʃuː.rɪ.ti/ with less intrusive R sound. Overall, rhoticity and vowel quality on the second syllable shift slightly, but the crucial element is the stressed second syllable’s vowel quality and the final /ti/.
The difficulty lies in the multisyllabic rhythm and the central vowel triangle: the second syllable’s /tuː/ or /tjʊə/ must be clearly articulated in a compact space, while keeping the final /ti/ unmerged with the preceding consonant. Learners often misplace primary stress or reduce the second syllable too much, producing ma-TOO-ri-ty or ma-ty-oo-ree. Focusing on the precise second-syllable vowel and maintaining even stress across all three unstressed endings helps.
A unique feature is the combination of a stressed glottal-ready /tʃ/ onset in the second syllable and a trailing /r/ in rhotic accents or a non-rhotic realization in others. The blend /ˈtʃuː.ɹə.ti/ (or /ˈtjʊə.rɪ.ti/) requires precise tongue positioning for the affricate /tʃ/ followed by a rounded, accurate following vowel; learners often mis-sustain or devoice the /r/ in non-rhotic dialects.
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Maturity comes from the Middle English maturity, ultimately from Old French maturité, from maturer ‘to ripen, mature’, from Latin maturare ‘to hasten, ripen’, from maturus ‘ripe, ready’. The Latin root is maturus, meaning “ripe, ready for consumption,” and by extension “fully developed.” The concept evolved from a literal sense of ripening to a figurative sense of development and readiness, particularly in psychological, social, and financial contexts. In English, maturity has long denoted a state achieved after growth, not merely the act of maturing. The first known uses in English date back to the late medieval period, with semantic shifts aligning to both moral and practical readiness, such as decision-making capacity and financial obligations. Over centuries, the term broadened to include legal, emotional, and professional dimensions, while retaining its core sense of “being fully formed.” Today, maturity encompasses maturity in object states (e.g., wine, bread), personal maturation, and institutional readiness, reflecting a continuum from raw potential to stable, established form.
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Words that rhyme with "Maturity"
-ity sounds
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