inchoately
- adverb
- /ɪnˈkoʊʧəˌli/
- Formal
- Although the theory was inchoately presented, its potential implications intrigued the researchers.
Examples
-
Her understanding of the project was still inchoately formed, leaving many details unaddressed.
-
This vision of history has been spelled out at least inchoately in Theology and the Dialectics of History.
Academic text (2006) -
But I inchoately grasped that the perennial wisdom offered us the possibility of re-enchanting the world.
Academic text (1995) -
And the enduring memory of the way in which a policy disagreement within the Democratic Party had resulted in blood and panic in Grant Park may have contributed inchoately to Nixon's own 20-point win in 1972.
Academic text (2010) -
However inchoately, Isa also knows that, like tolling bells, convention writes predictable and closed scripts, excluding or suppressing deviations and other stories.
Fiction book (1993) -
The first draft of his novel was inchoately crafted, full of ideas that needed further development.
Synonyms
Hard to see, hear, or remember clearly
In a way that is not clear or logical
Partly done and not finished
In a rough, incomplete way that lacks detail
In a way that has no clear shape or structure
In a vague way without clear detail
How Developed
Surface Forms
Morphology
Etymology
Inchoately comes from the Latin verb inchoare and the root incho-, which mean 'to begin'. So, to do something inchoately is to do it in a 'beginning' or 'not finished' way, which is why the word describes unclear or half-formed ideas and plans.