Definition

1. Verb (intransitive):

   • To become ripe or fully developed, especially referring to fruit or crops reaching a state of readiness for eating or harvesting.
   • To become mature or ready, often used metaphorically for ideas, plans, or people.

2. Verb (transitive):

   • To cause something to become ripe or fully developed.
   • To bring something to a state of maturity or completion.

Examples of Usage

• Intransitive Verb:

  • The bananas will ripen in a few days if you leave them on the counter.
  • His plan to start a business needed more time to ripen before he could act.

• Transitive Verb:

  • The warm sunshine helped ripen the tomatoes quickly.
  • Experience ripened her judgment, making her a wiser leader.

Advanced Usage

• "to ripen into something": to develop or mature into a particular state or thing.

  • Their initial friendship eventually ripened into a deep love.

• In a figurative or abstract sense: Often used for non-physical development.

  • The artist allowed the concept for his masterpiece to ripen in his mind for years.

Variants and Related Words

• Ripe (adjective): Fully grown and developed; ready to be eaten or used.
  • The corn is ripe for harvest.
• Ripeness (noun): The state of being ripe.
  • The ripeness of the cheese determines its flavor.
• Ripener (noun): An agent or substance that causes ripening.
  • Ethylene gas is a common fruit ripener.

Synonyms

• Mature: To become fully developed.
• Develop: To grow or cause to grow and become more advanced.
• Mellow: To become softer or more relaxed with age (often for flavors or personalities).

Related Phrasal Verbs

(Note: "Ripen" is not commonly used with particles to form standard phrasal verbs. The concept is typically expressed with prepositions like "into" as shown in Advanced Usage.)

Related Idioms

• "Time will ripen all things": A proverb suggesting that with enough time, everything will reach its proper state of development or understanding.
• "Ripe for the picking": (While using the adjective "ripe") Ready and available to be taken or exploited. This idiom is related to the concept of ripeness.
  • The market is ripe for the picking with our new product.

Verb

1. grow ripe
   • The plums ripen in July
2. cause to ripen or develop fully
   • The sun ripens the fruit
   • Age matures a good wine