inchoate
[ in-koh-it, -eyt or, esp. British, in-koh-eyt ]
/ ɪnˈkoʊ ɪt, -eɪt or, esp. British, ˈɪn koʊˌeɪt /
adjective
not yet completed or fully developed; rudimentary.
just begun; incipient.
not organized; lacking order: an inchoate mass of ideas on the subject.
RELATED WORDS
amorphous, elementary, embryonic, formless, immature, imperfect, incipient, preliminary, rudimentary, shapeless, unfinished, unformed, inceptive, unshaped, nascent
Nearby words
- inch of mercury,
- inch plant,
- inch-pound,
- incher,
- inchmeal,
- inchoation,
- inchoative,
- inchon,
- inchworm,
- incidence
Origin of inchoate
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for inchoate
inchoate
adjective (ɪnˈkəʊeɪt, -ˈkəʊɪt)
just beginning; incipient
undeveloped; immature; rudimentary
(of a legal document, promissory note, etc) in an uncompleted state; not yet made specific or valid
verb (ɪnˈkəʊeɪt) (tr)
to begin
Word Origin for inchoate
C16: from Latin incohāre to make a beginning, literally: to hitch up, from in- ² + cohum yokestrap
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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inchoate
1530s, from Latin inchoatus, past participle of inchoare, alteration of incohare "to begin," originally "to hitch up," from in- "on" (see in- (2)) + cohum "strap fastened to the oxen's yoke." Related: Inchoative.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper