From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishprecociouspre‧co‧cious /prɪˈkəʊʃəs $ -ˈkoʊ-/ adjective INTELLIGENTa precocious child shows intelligence or skill at a very young age, or behaves in an adult way – sometimes used to show disapproval in British English a precocious child who walked and talked early —precociously adverb —precociousness (also precocity) /prɪˈkɒsəti $ -ˈkɑː-/ noun [uncountable]
Examples from the Corpus
precocious• The book's narrator is a precocious 12-year-old boy.• The egg needs to be extremely large because it contains the nourishment required to produce a most precocious chick.• Harriet is played by Michelle Trachtenberg, a precocious child actress portraying a precocious child.• There are even two precocious child skaters, who make you realise how long the process of togetherness takes to gell.• It is unclear when Patsy Ramsey first launched her precocious daughter on the circuit.• Werbach was a precocious environmentalist and a leadership prodigy.precocious child• Harriet is played by Michelle Trachtenberg, a precocious child actress portraying a precocious child.• Scott Konrad had always been a precocious child, Deborah recalled.• In any case, I am cautious about pushing a precocious child on to first grade.• There are even two precocious child skaters, who make you realise how long the process of togetherness takes to gell.Origin precocious (1600-1700) Latin praecox “becoming ripe early”, from coquere “to cook, ripen” 