nascent

[nas-uhnt, ney-suhnt]

adjective

1. beginning to exist or develop.

   That nascent republic is holding its first election this month.

2. Chemistry.,  (of an element) in the nascent state.

nascent

/ ˈneɪ-, ˈnæsənt /

adjective

1. starting to grow or develop; being born

2. chem (of an element or simple compound, esp hydrogen) created within the reaction medium in the atomic form and having a high activity

Other Word Forms

• nascence noun
• nascency noun
• unnascent adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of nascent¹

First recorded in 1615–25; from Latin nāscent-, stem of nāscēns “being born,” present participle of nāscī “to be born, arise”

Word History and Origins

Origin of nascent¹

C17: from Latin nascēns present participle of nāscī to be born

Example Sentences

The evidence around using psychedelics as medicine may be nascent, but the online market of self-proclaimed healers offering curated journeys involving various illegal substances is booming.

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The city established limited library services in the nascent Pacific Palisades in the 1920s, and the community got its first branch library in 1952.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

High tariffs would protect nascent industrialization and increase federal revenue.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Stagecoach services, like the pony express, took days to traverse the gutted tracks across the wilderness that still separated America’s nascent cities.

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The European Union outlined plans to promote European adoption of and research into artificial intelligence tools to boost the bloc’s grasp of the nascent technology.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• burgeoning 
• fledgling 
• growing 
• incipient 
• promising