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inchoate Definition

in·cho·ate (in kō′it, -āt′)

adjective

  1. just begun; in the early stages; incipient; rudimentary
  2. not yet clearly or completely formed or organized; disordered
  3. Law not yet completed or made effective; pending

Etymology: L inchoatus, incohatus, pp. of inchoare, incohare, to begin, orig. rural term “hitch up, harness” < in-, in + cohum, the strap from plow beam to yoke < IE base *kagh-, to hold, enclose > hedge

Related Forms:

inchoate Synonyms

inchoate

modif.

incipient, rudimentary, preliminary, beginning, just begun, not fully formed; see also unfinished 1.

inchoate Law Definition

adj

Commenced but not completed, partially done, generally used in contract law to describe an undertaking which has been agreed upon, but as to which all necessary formalities (for example, signatures on the document) have not been completed.
inchoate Usage Examples

Modifies a noun

  • offense: Territorial scope of inchoate offenses related to offenses under this Act.
  • mass: Clayman's palms are pressed against Himiko's body as tho she was trying to pull shape out of inchoate mass.
  • form: The question of the audience and the society for poems was there in a very inchoate form.
  • stage: For him, there were no unmerited media appearances and references for work or an oeuvre still evidently at an inchoate stage of development.
  • state: These features of diversity and informality suggest that discourse in this particular area of Development Studies is at a relatively early and inchoate state.

Modifying Another Word

  • often: Turner's vision remains as vital today, expressing as it does the often inchoate and funereal qualities of the Venetian experience.
  • rather: The " Reception " seemed to me rather inchoate not to say disorderly.
  • somewhat: The Roman Empire is the classical illustration of this policy, tho in a somewhat inchoate form, in the ancient world.
  • very: The question of the audience and the society for poems was there in a very inchoate form.

Used with adjective complement

  • remain: The lien remains inchoate until a breach of the charter occurs, when the lien becomes perfected.