late bloomer直譯為「晚開的花」才能與事業上的「大器晚成」, late developer, precociously Slow burner / Slow starter（起步較慢、慢熱型的人）

Travel

America’s Outback: Southern Utah

By TONY PERROTTET

In the southern region of the state, 1.9 million acres of natural wonders remain almost as unknown and unexplored as when a precocious teenager helped map them in 1872.

No one who had ever seen Samuel Johnson in his infancy (as Jane Austen might have put it) would have predicted that he would interest a biographer. The son of an obscure provincial bookseller, Johnson was precociously learned but otherwise a late bloomer.

Definition

Late bloomer 直譯為「晚開的花」，用來形容「大器晚成的人」 或「比別人更晚展露才能、取得成就或發育的人」。 [1, 2]

詞源與涵義

字面來源：bloom 是「開花」的意思。有些植物在早春盛開，有些則在較晚的季節才綻放；引申到人身上，比喻早發或晚熟的生命節奏。
劍橋詞典定義：指某人在某個領域或事情上，到了比一般人更晚的年紀才變得優秀。 [1, 2, 3, 4]

---

主要應用情境

才能與事業上的「大器晚成」
• 指在青少年時期或年輕時表現平庸、不被看好，但隨著時間累積、經歷沉澱，在人生的中後期才發掘天賦並獲得成功（例如許多在年長後才成名的藝術家、創業者或作家）。
• 例句：At school she was a late bloomer, and it wasn't until she went...（她在學校時屬於大器晚成型，直到後來她才……） [1, 2, 3]
生理與發育上的「晚熟」
• 指青少年時期身體發育（如身高、第二性徵）比同齡人來得晚，但最終會迎頭趕上。與之相對的詞是 early bloomer（早熟 / 早慧的人）。 [1, 2]
學習與技能發展
• 用在語言學習、樂器或專業技能上，不論幾歲開始學，只要開竅得晚、後來居上，都可稱為 late bloomer。 [1]

---

常見同義概念

大器晚成（中文成語）
Slow burner / Slow starter（起步較慢、慢熱型的人） [1]

precocious 
adjective
1 (especially of children) showing unusually early mental development or achievement:早熟
A precocious child, she went to university at the age of 15.
She recorded her first CD at the precocious age of 12.

2 MAINLY DISAPPROVING describes a child who behaves as if they are much older than they are:
a precocious little brat

precociously 
adverb
in a way that is unnaturally advanced or developed

precociousness un [U] (FORMAL precocity)


late developer UK noun [C] (US late bloomer)
someone who becomes good at something after people usually become good at it:
At school she was a late developer, and it wasn't until she went to university that her talents became apparent.