inchoate

adj.

1. In an initial or early stage; incipient.
2. Imperfectly formed or developed: a vague, inchoate idea.

[Latin inchoātus, past participle of inchoāre, to begin, alteration of incohāre : in-, in; see in-² + cohum, strap from yoke to harness.]

inchoately in·cho'ate·ly adv.
inchoateness in·cho'ate·ness n.

(in-KO-it)

adjective
1. In an initial or early stage; incipient.
2. Imperfectly formed or developed.

Etymology
Latin inchoatus, past participle of inchoare, to begin, alteration of incohare : in- + cohum, strap from yoke to harness.

Usage
"He (Jacob Zuma, Deputy President of S. Africa) has been caught between an inchoate government legislative programme, a powerful speaker and weak parliamentary management." — The Good, the Bad and the Ugly: The 1999 Report Card, Africa News Service, 23 Dec 1999.

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Nikki Finke, an entertainment journalist with LA Weekly, expressed herself alliteratively and bluntly about the Oscars awards show on TV. "Inchoate" — undeveloped — was one of the mildest of her insults:

"This was the most incoherent, inchoate Oscar telecast in recent memory. Nothing flowed, everything jarred, cut ins and cut outs weren't preceded by necessary segues. Added up to a butt-ugly broadcast that even the biggest film buff had to gag through."

Link: Stinko Oscars

Posted March 7, 2006.

See our Word Overheard blog to see interesting uses of strange words.

Not yet completed. In inchoate offenses, something remains to be done before the crime can be accomplished as contemplated.

Unfinished, begun but not completed. In real estate, this can apply to Dower or Curtesy rights prior to the death of a spouse.
Example: Collins dies, leaving dower rights inchoate. Her children by a former marriage sue her widower to recover her share of property he sold.

adjective

Having no distinct shape: amorphous, formless, shapeless, unformed, unshaped. See order/disorder.

adj

Definition: undeveloped, beginning
Antonyms: developed, grown, mature

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This entry contains information applicable to United States law only.

Imperfect; partial; unfinished; begun, but not completed; as in a contract not executed by all the parties.

being only partly in existence, esp: imperfectly formed or formulated

IN BRIEF: adj. - Not completely formed.

The first step in the planning process is to collect ideas, no matter how inchoate, from every member of the team.

Dansk (Danish)
adj. - ufuldkommen, ufuldstændig, være i sin vorden

Nederlands (Dutch)
pril, onrijp, beginnen

Français (French)
adj. - vague, naissant, débutant, rudimentaire, fruste, incomplet, inachevé

Deutsch (German)
adj. - anfänglich, unfertig

Ελληνική (Greek)
adj. - νεόκοπος, καινοφανής, νεοφανής
v. - αρχίζω

Italiano (Italian)
incipiente, cominciare

Português (Portuguese)
adj. - incipiente, incompleto
v. - começar

Русский (Russian)
начальный, положить начало, неразвитой, зачаточный

Español (Spanish)
adj. - incoado, rudimentario, incipiente

Svenska (Swedish)
adj. - begynnande, outvecklad
v. - börja, åstadkomma

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
刚开始的, 未发达的, 早期的

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
adj. - 剛開始的, 未發達的, 早期的

한국어 (Korean)
adj. - 이제 막 시작한, 미완성의, 미확정의

日本語 (Japanese)
v. - 始める
adj. - 始まったばかりの, 不完全な, 未完成の

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(صفه) ناقص, بدائي‏

עברית (Hebrew)
adj. - ‮בראשית ההתפתחות, התחלי, לא שלם, לא מעוצב‬

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