# inchoate

> English word · Adjective · IPA /ɪnˈkəʊət/ · frequency rank #88,458

## Definitions
1. Recently started but not fully formed yet; just begun; only elementary or immature.
2. Chaotic, disordered, confused; also, incoherent, rambling.
3. Of a crime, imposing criminal liability for an incompleted act.

## Etymology
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”).

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/inchoate