incipient
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of incipient
1580–90; < Latin incipient- (stem of incipiēns, present participle of incipere to take in hand, begin), equivalent to in- in- 2 + -cipi- (combining form of capi- take) + -ent- -ent
Explanation
Incipient means something is in an early stage of existence. In its incipient form, basketball was played with a soccer ball and peach baskets for goals. Bouncy orange balls and nets came later. Incipient comes from the Latin incipere "to begin." The related, and more commonly used, word inception means the beginning or the start. It is important to note that when something is in an incipient stage, there is a chance it will never come to completion. So be on the lookout for incipient trouble or an incipient crisis — you might be able to prevent it from happening.
Vocabulary lists containing incipient
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
After all, this is a company that holds itself out as the North Star of our incipient “space-faring civilization,” as Elon Musk puts it in SpaceX’s prospectus.
From Barron's • May 29, 2026
For Frost, fall is the season of incipient regret, of the virtually too late.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 16, 2026
“Doctor Strangelove,” “Catch-22,” and “M*A*S*H” collide in British journalist Phoebe Greenwood’s blistering debut novel, “Vulture,” a darkly comic, searing satire grounded in historic politics, suffused with incipient journalism and imbued with self-aggrandizement.
From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 7, 2025
In 2018, as Adams begins to plan for his incipient mayoral campaign, a Turkish promoter reaches out to an Adams staffer with a straw-donor strategy.
From Slate • Sep. 26, 2024
Hence if a productive crop is already available, incipient farmers will surely proceed to grow it rather than start all over again by gathering its not yet so useful wild relative and redomesticating it.
From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
