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Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
full-fledged
adjective
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
▪ At the age of 22, Davis became the youngest full-fledged member of the board of directors.
EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS
▪ But a department official said investigators have not found enough evidence to justify a full-fledged investigation.
▪ Few of us are comfortable with confrontations because they frequently lead to full-fledged blow-ups.
▪ Little wonder that in the years since his death in 1969, no full-fledged biography has appeared before.
▪ No strike deadline has been set, nor has a full-fledged boycott been called.
▪ Today the Gulf of Aden is a full-fledged ocean by tectonic standards.
▪ We expect a successful acquisition to provide a basis for the global expansion of our services in a full-fledged manner.
▪ What started out as a relatively manageable protest against stolen elections has now mushroomed into a full-fledged democracy movement.
The Collaborative International Dictionary
full-fledged

full-fledged \full-fledged\ adj.

  1. having reached full development with fully grown adult plumage; ready to fly; -- of a bird. fledgling

    Syn: fully fledged.

  2. having gained full status; -- of persons in respect to human roles; as, a full-fledged lawyer; by the age of seventeen I was a full-fledged atheist.

    Syn: fully fledged.

Douglas Harper's Etymology Dictionary
full-fledged

1570s, literal; 1883 in figurative sense; see full (adj.) + fledged.

Wiktionary
full-fledged

a. 1 (context of a bird English) Having all its feathers; able to fly. 2 (context idiomatic English) Having full qualification, credentials or preparation; entire; real.

WordNet
full-fledged
  1. adj. (of a bird) having reached full development with fully grown adult plumage; ready to fly [syn: fully fledged]

  2. (of persons e.g.) having gained full status; "a full-fledged lawyer"; "by the age of seventeen I was a full-fledged atheist"; "sees itself as a fully fledged rival party" [syn: fully fledged]

Usage examples of "full-fledged".

In a moment, the harvesting party had exploded into a full-fledged food fight, fallen oranges zinging past and hitting people, trees, the ground, with a liquid sploosh.

The courtyard of the little swans gave out on a similarly carpeted, white-walled corridor lined with the doorsreal, wooden doors, not curtainsleading to the quarters of the full-fledged concubines.

There would be three goats for the initiation of the three youths into full-fledged warriorship, and besides these he had received several gifts of grain and beads, together with a piece of copper wire from admiring and terrified members of his audience.

A Q-ship, moreover, that might as well have been a full-fledged battlecruiser for the weight of armament it carried.

Celia, now a full-fledged member of the board of directors, prepared carefully for the meeting which would consider her proposed Felding-Roth Doctrine.

So Im not a full-fledged investigative reporter yet, and, yes, I know you know I havent written any big exposes yet, and Ive been working my butt off on the advice column at the paper for almost five fuckin years, but honestly, Regan, you should have more faith in me.

He can pose as a full-fledged, blown-in-the-bottle cosmetic surgeon.

But there had sprung into her mind, full-fledged, the suspicion that Doctor Davison had been the donor of the frocks.

The presentation resembled a full-fledged dramatic production, opening with an interior shot of forest that had not been fought through.

It was years and years, until I was finished with interning and had gained some confidence as a full-fledged doctor working on my own, that I came to understand myself in this respect, this threatening inferiority complex.

Although he was Matteo's age, repeated infractions of jordaini rules forced Themo to repeat the fifth form before he could become a full-fledged counselor.

To judge from their ages, the quality of their periwigs, and their posture, she guessed two full-fledged barristers and three clerks.

For Skip and me and too many of our cardplaying buddies, our second round of prelims was a full-fledged disaster.

Of course the Watchful Eye knew, as Avery had perceived, that their little models were not full-fledged human beings, that they were just robotically activated biological material formed into human shapes.

Slim, and about five-two, he looked more like a prep school student than a full-fledged Senior Space Cadet.