inchoate

adjective

in-ˈkō-ət How to pronounce inchoate (audio)
Definition of inchoatenext
as in nascent
beginning to come into existence inchoate feelings of affection for a man whom she had, up till now, thought of as only a friend

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of inchoate The film’s images find a saturated romanticism in the sunset hues and midnight blues of the surrounding, seemingly infinite and defiantly waterless landscape, and thus an apt visual language for the big, inchoate emotions that our heroine feels but can’t always wrangle or articulate. — Guy Lodge, Variety, 20 May 2026 Woodford himself was quite explicit that his intervention was intended merely to formalize the existing consensus— to backfill a consistent theory behind an inchoate set of practices that had evolved through trial and error. — Literary Hub, 13 May 2026 There are two teenage boys in the film, Haruki (Waku Kawaguchi) and Keita (Kiyora Fuiwara), whose inchoate erotic feelings for one another, a love that can still barely say its name in provincial Japan, forms a subplot here. — Leslie Felperin, HollywoodReporter, 13 May 2026 In the greater public, a dangerous, inchoate rage directed at Barack Obama persists alongside the widespread affection for him. — Peter Slevin, New Yorker, 4 May 2026 See All Example Sentences for inchoate
Recent Examples of Synonyms for inchoate
  1. nascent
  2. initial
  3. incipient
  4. first
Adjective
  • At the time, Truell hadn’t founded a company; but three years later, the venture capitalist persuaded her firm, BoxGroup, to invest in the Gen Z engineering savant’s nascent business.
    — Emma Burleigh, Fortune, 22 Oct. 2026
  • In a conference call on Thursday after the market close, chief financial officer Armelle Poulou was peppered with questions about designer changes, with analysts expressing fears this would delay the group’s nascent recovery.
    — Joelle Diderich, Footwear News, 22 Oct. 2026
Definition of nascent
Adjective
  • Court records show that the investigation into the initial allegations was inconclusive.
    — Kacen Bayless, Kansas City Star, 22 Oct. 2026
  • The progress came roughly a year after the program received funding for its initial engineering, manufacturing and development phase.
    — Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 21 Oct. 2026
Definition of initial
Adjective
  • The incipient differences increased after the Civil War intensified hostilities and cultural differences between the North and South.
    — Valerie M. Fridland, The Conversation, 20 Oct. 2026
  • My ‘Deborah Vance Show senior writer’ persona was kind of a rude complainer with an incipient alcohol problem.
    — Merrill Markoe, Deadline, 21 Aug. 2026
Definition of incipient
Adjective
  • That the first foreign policy message after the victory went to Moscow, and through a Russian state outlet, says a good deal about where the new government’s instincts lie.
    — Brady Knox, The Washington Examiner, 27 Oct. 2026
  • After a short teaser clip lit up the internet with news of their return, Dead Man’s Bones—the duo of Ryan Gosling and Zach Shields—are officially back with their first new music in 17 years.
    — Nina Corcoran, Pitchfork, 27 Oct. 2026
Definition of first

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inchmeal
inchoate
inchoative
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Cite this Entry

“Inchoate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/inchoate. Accessed 29 Oct. 2026.

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