nascent

adjective

na·​scent ˈna-sᵊnt How to pronounce nascent (audio) ˈnā- How to pronounce nascent (audio)
: coming or having recently come into existence
a nascent middle class
her nascent singing career

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The Origin of Nascent

Nascent comes from nascens, the present participle of the Latin verb nasci, which means "to be born." It is related to words such as nation, native, nature, and innate.

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 Both hoped that the nascent nuclear technology would remain under global, and peaceful, control. Kc Cole, Smithsonian Magazine, 8 Mar. 2024 In Israel’s nascent days, Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion agreed with Haredi rabbis to exempt from military service 400 men studying in religious schools, or yeshivas. Mick Krever, CNN, 8 Mar. 2024 When a nascent technology like AI rockets to prominence, investors must catch up, and learn to be discerning. Byallie Garfinkle, Fortune, 29 Feb. 2024 Cebu Air, the Philippine budget carrier controlled by billionaire Lance Gokongwei and his family’s JG Summit, plans to rapidly expand capacity in the next decade, betting that a nascent tourism boom will continue. Jonathan Burgos, Forbes, 26 Feb. 2024 Sports leagues have been eager to embrace AR/VR technology even in its nascent form. Susan Baek, NBC News, 12 Feb. 2024 In 1909, the German chemist Fritz Haber demonstrated a nascent but scalable method for turning N2 into ammonia. Matthew Hutson, The New Yorker, 6 Feb. 2024 Published in Neuroscience Bulletin, one nascent gene therapy is designed to treat the condition at the source via direct injections. William A. Haseltine, Forbes, 27 Feb. 2024 It was founded by college dropouts who were helping to invent Instagram virality in 2011 by sharing funny photos and captions—memes—on the nascent social app. Alexandra Sternlicht, Fortune, 23 Feb. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'nascent.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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

Time Traveler
The first known use of nascent was circa 1624

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Cite this Entry

“Nascent.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/nascent. Accessed 18 Mar. 2024.

Medical Definition

nascent

adjective
na·​scent ˈnas-ᵊnt How to pronounce nascent (audio) ˈnās- How to pronounce nascent (audio)
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

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