ripe

B2 · Upper Intermediate

adj. ready for something to happen, or at the right time for a change.

adj. fully developed or prepared for a particular action, treatment, or effect.

“The country was ripe for a change in leadership after the long crisis.”

“Market conditions were ripe for a new competitor to enter the industry and challenge the established monopolies.”

C1 · Advanced Informal

adj. having a very strong and unpleasant smell.

adj. characterised by a strong, pungent, or disagreeable odour.

“His gym bag was a bit ripe after sitting in the hot car all day.”

“The air in the locker room was decidedly ripe, thick with the scent of damp towels and old athletic gear.”

C2 · Proficiency Law Technical · Formal

adj. ready to be decided by a court of law.

adj. referring to a case that is ready for adjudication because the facts have developed sufficiently.

“The judge decided the case was not yet ripe for a final decision.”

“The appellate court dismissed the claim, ruling that the dispute was not yet ripe for judicial intervention as the administrative remedies had not been exhausted.”

B2 · Upper Intermediate

adj. used to describe a very old age in a respectful way.

adj. referring to an advanced age, typically in the idiomatic expression 'a ripe old age'.

“My grandfather lived to the ripe old age of ninety-five.”

“Having maintained an active lifestyle, she reached the ripe age of ninety with her mental faculties entirely intact.”