as in early
before the usual or expected time
a baby born three weeks prematurely
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Recent Examples of prematurely
If something goes wrong when the crew is in space, the suits may give the astronauts the option to either take an early abort and come home prematurely, or attempt to continue around the moon, Koch noted.
—
Jackie Wattles, CNN Money, 1 Apr. 2026
Visual observations have also shown that the coated perlite did not leach out prematurely.
—Srishti Gupta, Interesting Engineering, 31 Mar. 2026
Fortifier, a product tailored to preemies, is meant to augment mother’s milk when babies are born prematurely and a mother’s milk alone doesn’t deliver enough nutrition.
—David Hilzenrath, USA Today, 29 Mar. 2026
Unusually low snowpack and early melting have caused the wildfire season to start prematurely.
—Sarah Henry, AZCentral.com, 28 Mar. 2026
Starting pitcher Nathan Eovaldi was having the best season of his career before injury ended his 2025 season prematurely and was hoping to get off to a similiar start this season.
—Lawrence Dow, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 26 Mar. 2026
The hip injury that prematurely ended his college career.
—Daniel Flick - The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, AJC.com, 25 Mar. 2026
The woman gave birth prematurely, and the baby died.
—Randy Tucker, Cincinnati Enquirer, 20 Mar. 2026
The infant girl was delivered in the emergency room prematurely and had major health issues, including respiratory problems, the report says.
—Nicole Duarte, NBC news, 20 Mar. 2026
Jackie Wattles, CNN Money, 1 Apr. 2026
Visual observations have also shown that the coated perlite did not leach out prematurely.
—Srishti Gupta, Interesting Engineering, 31 Mar. 2026
Fortifier, a product tailored to preemies, is meant to augment mother’s milk when babies are born prematurely and a mother’s milk alone doesn’t deliver enough nutrition.
—David Hilzenrath, USA Today, 29 Mar. 2026
Unusually low snowpack and early melting have caused the wildfire season to start prematurely.
—Sarah Henry, AZCentral.com, 28 Mar. 2026
Starting pitcher Nathan Eovaldi was having the best season of his career before injury ended his 2025 season prematurely and was hoping to get off to a similiar start this season.
—Lawrence Dow, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 26 Mar. 2026
The hip injury that prematurely ended his college career.
—Daniel Flick - The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, AJC.com, 25 Mar. 2026
The woman gave birth prematurely, and the baby died.
—Randy Tucker, Cincinnati Enquirer, 20 Mar. 2026
The infant girl was delivered in the emergency room prematurely and had major health issues, including respiratory problems, the report says.
—Nicole Duarte, NBC news, 20 Mar. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for prematurely
early
Adverb
-
Two diplomats said the meeting of the council's 15 members and the vote were set for Saturday morning, rather than Friday as earlier planned.—
Cybele Mayes-Osterman,
USA Today,
4 Apr. 2026
-
Mark Vientos reached base safely four times, but slugger Juan Soto exited early with right calf tightness.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
4 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Prematurely.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/prematurely. Accessed 7 Apr. 2026.
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