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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Elsewhere, Mark's purple-skinned half-brother, Oliver, is growing fast and displaying some nascent superpowers while the dastardly Doc Seismic hatches a subterranean hostage crisis. Jeff Spry, Space.com, 7 Feb. 2025 Sarah Swingler’s new position with the nascent Action for Freelancers (AFF) group has been reduced to one day a week after the new org received complaints over her conduct. Max Goldbart, Deadline, 7 Feb. 2025 Whereas meteorites have been exposed to and contaminated by conditions on Earth that could skew scientific results, gathering samples directly from an asteroid in space is like peering into a time capsule from the nascent solar system. Denise Chow, NBC News, 29 Jan. 2025 Photo : Courtesy of RM Sotheby's 1965 Spirit of America Sonic I In the mid-1960s, with the space age still nascent, rockets developed in pursuit of the land-speed record were all the rage, and Utah’s Bonneville Salt Flats the primary launch pad. Viju Mathew, Robb Report, 25 Jan. 2025 See all Example Sentences for nascent 

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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Dictionary Entries Near nascent

Cite this Entry

“Nascent.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/nascent. Accessed 11 Feb. 2025.

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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