Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • adjective Not having the feathers necessary to fly. Used of a young bird.
  • adjective Inexperienced, immature, or untried.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • Not yet fledged or furnished with feathers.
  • Not having attained to full growth or experience; not fully developed; immature.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • adjective Not fledged; not feathered; hence, not fully developed; immature.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • adjective Of a bird that has yet to develop its wings and feathers and become able to fly
  • adjective figuratively inexperienced, like a tyro or novice

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • adjective (of birds) not yet having developed feathers
  • adjective young and inexperienced
  • adjective (of an arrow) not equipped with feathers

Etymologies

Sorry, no etymologies found.

Support

Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word unfledged.

Examples

  • If the season starts too early the birds are still unfledged and considered too small to hunt.

    Climate change and terrestrial wildlife management in the Fennoscandian North 2009

  • “For the wild falcon,” answered she, “whom a dog brought in his mouth to a certain castle, when he was but an unfledged eyas — for the hawk whom men dare not fly, lest he should check at game, and pounce on carrion — whom folk must keep hooded till he has the proper light of his eyes, and can discover good from evil.”

    The Abbot 2008

  • Mother, where he landed, giddy and tottering like a chick unfledged, and at the last of his strength for hunger and thirst; but, finding there streams flowing and birds on the branches cooing and fruit-laden trees in clusters and singly growing, he ate of the fruits and drank of the rills.

    The Book of The Thousand Nights And A Night 2006

  • While he, the aged sire, like mother-bird wailing her unfledged brood, comes hasting hither with halting steps on his bitter journey.

    Heracles 2008

  • While he, the aged sire, like mother-bird wailing her unfledged brood, comes hasting hither with halting steps on his bitter journey.

    Heracles 2008

  • James, was witness to the cruel and ignominious treatment showed to one of his brethren, to a rational, two-footed, unfledged being.

    Candide 2007

  • I gape like an unfledged kite in its nest, wanting to swallow a chicken, bobbed at its mouth by its marauding dam! —

    Clarissa Harlowe 2006

  • He did not particularly heed her; but Mrs. Harnham was continually occupying her eyes with him, and wondered more than ever what had attracted him in her unfledged maid-servant.

    Life's Little Ironies 2006

  • And according to this new clarification, 927 Fifth could take down the nest as long as there were no eggs or unfledged baby hawks in it.

    Ruffled Feathers on Fifth Avenue DiGiacomo, Frank 2005

  • The hawk is aerial brother of the wave which he sails over and surveys, those his perfect air-inflated wings answering to the elemental unfledged pinions of the sea.

    Walden 2004

Comments

Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.