nascent

adjective

na·​scent ˈnā-  ˈna-sᵊnt 

: coming or having recently come into existence

a nascent middle class

her nascent singing career

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The Origin of Nascent

Nascent descends from the Latin verb nasci, meaning “to be born,” as does many an English word, from nation and nature to innate and renaissance. But rather than describing the birth of literal babies—as in pups, kits, hoglets, et al.—nascent is applied to things (such as careers or technologies) that have recently formed or come into existence, as when scholar Danille K. Taylor-Guthrie wrote of Toni Morrison being “an integral part of a nascent group of black women writers who would alter the course of African American, American, and world literature.”

Synonyms of nascent

• initial
• first
• incipient
• budding
• inchoate
• elementary
• original

Examples of nascent in a Sentence

In the mid-'60s, Toronto was home to Yorkville, a gathering spot for draft resisters, a petri dish for a nascent coffeehouse and rock scene similar to the one developing in New York's Greenwich Village. —Mike Sager, Rolling Stone, 27 June 1996

It was almost 80 years ago that the Wright brothers from Ohio ventured to Kitty Hawk for the uplift its steady winds offered their nascent passion, airplanes. —Robert R. Yandle, Popular Photography, March 1993

A few centuries late, when the nascent science of geology was gathering evidence for the earth's enormous antiquity, some advocates of biblical literalism revived this old argument for our entire planet. —Stephen Jay Gould, Granta 16, Summer 1985

The actress is now focusing on her nascent singing career.

one of the leading figures in the nascent civil-rights movement

Recent Examples on the Web

Because their earliest years are spent shrouded in clouds of dust, these nascent stars can be hard to spot. — Chelsea Gohd, Space.com, 7 Oct. 2026

FilmNation has partnered with nascent British indie High Road Entertainment. — Jesse Whittock, Deadline, 6 Oct. 2026

And Starbucks could provide a platform to grow Chipotle’s nascent international business. — Rohan Goswami, semafor.com, 6 Oct. 2026

While the research is still nascent, McCracken is unequivocal. — Amanda Loudin, Scientific American, 5 Oct. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Latin nascent-, nascens, present participle of nasci to be born — more at nation

First Known Use

circa 1624, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for nascent

• adjacent
• complacent
• complaisant
• subjacent

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Medical Definition

nascent

adjective

na·​scent ˈnas-ᵊnt  ˈnās- 

1

: coming or having recently come into existence : beginning to develop

nascent polypeptide chains

2

: of, relating to, or being an atom or substance at the moment of its formation usually with the implication of greater reactivity than otherwise

nascent hydrogen