ripeness
noun /ˈraɪpnəs/
/ˈraɪpnəs/
[uncountable]- the state of fruit or crops being fully grown and ready to be eaten
- We pick the fruit at the peak of ripeness.
- the quality in cheese or wine of having a fully developed taste
- Both cheese and wine are intricately flavoured substances that change with ripeness and age.
- the fact of having a very strong or unpleasant smell
- It is difficult to convey the ripeness, the stench, of the city through most of its history.