incipient

[in-sip-ee-uhnt]

adjective

1. beginning to exist or appear; in an initial stage.

   an incipient cold.

   Synonyms: developing, nascent, beginning

incipient

/ ɪnˈsɪpɪənt /

adjective

1. just starting to be or happen; beginning

Other Word Forms

• incipience noun
• incipiently adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of incipient¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of incipient¹

C17: from Latin incipiēns, from incipere to begin, take in hand, from _in- ² + capere to take

Example Sentences

If you were worried about incipient inflation, it makes things worse.

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“Erasing” De Kooning would get the incipient powerhouse out of the way, artistically speaking.

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As fine arts funding withers across sectors and Hollywood budgets shrink while studios retreat from local productions, workers are still recovering from lengthy strikes and the incipient threat of artificial intelligence.

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We see the pent-up worry on her face signaling incipient danger: Helicopters roam the city while news of kidnapped ambassadors pours from the radio.

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And examining the death of this era of celebrity — which in my estimation has been about 50 years, from incipient to unraveling — is a way to mourn it openly, so it’s forced to finish dying.

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Related Words

• embryonic 
• nascent