inchoate
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inchoate
- /ɪnˈkəʊət/ UK
- /ɪnˈkəʊeɪt/ UK
- /ɪnˈkoʊət/ US
- /ɪnˈkoʊeɪt/ US
Where it comes from
The adjective is first attested in 1534, the verb circa 1631; borrowed from Latin incohātus (“begun, unfinished”), perfect passive participle of incohō (“to begin”), see -ate (etymology 1, 2 and 3). Cognate with Spanish incoar (“to initiate, commence, begin”).
adjective more inchoate · most inchoate
-
Recently started but not fully formed yet; just begun; only elementary or immature.
neither a substance perfect, nor a substance inchoate
Similar: elementary, immature, embryonic, incipient, nascent, rudimentary
- Chaotic, disordered, confused; also, incoherent, rambling. The Met's chairman, Sir Edward Watkin, was also chairman of that company [the Manchester, Sheffield & Lincolnshire Railway], which duplicated other railways' routes in an inchoate way between Manchester and Grimsby, and generally stumbled about the north.
- Of a crime, imposing criminal liability for an incompleted act. Congress considers the inchoate offenses of attempt and conspiracy, even conspiracy without an overt act, to be just as serious as the federal substantive drug offenses which they contemplate.
noun inchoates
- A beginning, an immature start.
verb inchoates · inchoating · inchoated
- To begin or start (something).
- To cause or bring about. In the field of criminology, to encourage, assist, conspire, aid and abet, incite, etc.
- To make a start.
Translations
Every language
adj started but not fully formed
| Español | embrional, incipiente |
|---|---|
| 日本語 | 無感性な mukansei na |
| हिन्दी | अपूर्ण apūrṇ, अपक्व apakva, असम्पूर्ण asampūrṇ, अस्फुटित asphuṭit, अविकसित aviksit, आरम्भिक ārambhik |
| Français | embryonnaire |
| Deutsch | im Entstehen begriffen, beginnend, unausgegoren |
| Ελληνικά | ατελής atelís, νεοφανής neofanís |
| Русский | начальный načalʹnyj, ранний rannij, неоконченный neokončennyj |
| العربية | اِبْتِدَائِيّ ibtidāʔiyy |
Talk about this word "inchoate." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/inchoate. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. inchoate. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/inchoate "inchoate." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/inchoate.Cite this
@misc{inchoate_2026,
title = {inchoate},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/inchoate},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
