inchoate

adjective

in·cho·ate in-ˈkō-ət

ˈin-kə-ˌwāt

Synonyms of inchoate next

: being only partly in existence or operation : incipient

especially : imperfectly formed or formulated : formless, incoherent

misty, inchoate suspicions that all is not well with the nation —

J. M. Perry

inchoately adverb

inchoateness noun

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When should you use inchoate?

Inchoate is most often used to describe something that is not, or not yet, completely formed or developed. It's a formal word that's sure to add pizzazz to any conversation—but only if you start working on pronouncing it correctly. The first two letters of inchoate do what you’d expect—exactly what the word in does. However, the choate in inchoate does not share the first sound of chair, nor does it rhyme with oat. Instead, it shares the first sound of cat, and rhymes with poet. Inchoate came to English in the 16th century from the Latin adjective incohātus, meaning "only begun, unfinished, imperfect," which in turn comes from a form of the verb incohāre, meaning "to start work on."

Examples of inchoate in a Sentence

inchoate feelings of affection for a man whom she had, up till now, thought of as only a friend

Recent Examples on the Web

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Many of Piker’s viewers come to him with inchoate opinions. —

Andrew Marantz, The New Yorker, 17 Mar. 2025 Running deep beneath all these threads seemed to be an inchoate feeling that simply to show evil was to become its apprentice. —

Cutter Wood, Harper's Magazine, 28 Feb. 2025 This notion of the border as liminal and inchoate sits at the center of Brother Brontë. —

David L. Ulin, The Atlantic, 21 Feb. 2025 Ross arrived in Jazz Age Manhattan as yet another out-of-towner with an inchoate sense of ambition. —

David Remnick, The New Yorker, 10 Feb. 2025 See All Example Sentences for inchoate

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from Latin incohātus, inchoātus "only begun, unfinished, imperfect," from past participle of incohāre "to start work on, begin, initiate," perhaps, if the original sense was "to yoke a plow to a team of oxen," from in- in- entry 2 + -cohāre, verbal derivative of cohum "hollow in the middle of a yoke into which a pole is fitted" or "strap used to attach the pole to the yoke," of uncertain origin

Note: The word cohum is known only from the work of the grammarians varro and Sextus Pompeius Festus, and their definitions may have been influenced by the presumed etymologies. Varro, who took the word to mean "hollow in the middle of a yoke" ("sub jugo medio cavum"), may have associated it with cavum "cavity, hole," which he uses as the genus term. Festus, who defines it as a strap or thong (lorum), associates it with cohibēre "to hold together, keep in place." If these meanings are correct, cohum may be linked to a putative western Indo-European verbal base *kag^h- "grasp, enclose" (see the note at haw entry 1), with an o of secondary origin. But given the lack of textual evidence for cohum, any etymology must remain speculative.

First Known Use

1534, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler

The first known use of inchoate was in 1534

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Style

“Inchoate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/inchoate. Accessed 23 Apr. 2025.

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Legal Definition

inchoate

adjective

in·cho·ate in-ˈkō-ət, ˈiŋ-kō-ˌāt

: not yet made complete, certain, or specific : not perfected see also inchoate lien at lien

: not yet transformed into actual use or possession

until an employee has earned his retirement pay…[it] is but an inchoate right—

Peterson v. Fire & Police Pension Ass'n, 759 P.2d 720 (1988)

: of or relating to a crime (as attempt, solicitation, or conspiracy) which consists of acts that are preliminary to another crime and that are in themselves criminal compare choate

Last Updated: 12 Apr 2025 - Updated example sentences

inchoate

adjective

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Synonyms

Examples of inchoate in a Sentence

Word History