Meanings
- not comparableEmerging; just coming into existence.
The A.I. boom is still in its nascent stages, and some analysts are skeptical that SpaceX and other companies will earn profits to justify their sky-high valuations.
2026 June 13, Ben Casselman, “Wages Are Falling. Wealth Is Surging. No Wonder Americans Are Unhappy.”, in The New York Times, →ISSN4 more examples
In the firſt, the Pope was but Antichriſt naſcent ; In the ſecond, Antichriſt creſcent ; In the third, Antichriſt regnant ; but in this fourth, he is made Lord of the Catholike faith, and Antichriſt triumphant[…]
c. 1624, Richard Crakanthorpe, “That the Church of Rome holdeth no doctrine by faith”, in Vigilius Dormitans, Romes Seer Overseene: Or, A Treatise of the Fift Generall Councell held at Constantinople, Anno 553 under Iustininan the Emperour, in the time of Pope Vigilius […] , London: Robert Mylbourne, published 1631, page 186The point of this chapter’s unflattering précis of nascent American medicine is not to castigate it for its primitivism, but to put blacks’ historical aversion to medical care into context, for most antebellum blacks were subjected to southern medicine.
2008, Harriet A. Washington, “Southern Discomfort”, in Medical Apartheid, Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, page 41There's another way. A growing number of parents, educators, and psychologists are finding success with research-backed models of discipline that share three common threads: connection, communication, and capability. […] This book tells stories of this nascent movement, the champions of which aren't even fully aware of the shared building blocks in their methods of the growing body of science that supports their results.
2018, Katherine Reynolds Lewis, The Good News About Bad Behavior: Why Kids Are Less Disciplined Than Ever — And What to Do About It, page 5Locke has another plaque at Crediton station, on the line from Exeter to Barnstaple. It tells us that his "great number of unsurpassed works include the building of the nascent London & South Western Railway".
2021 December 29, Stephen Roberts, “Stories and facts behind railway plaques: Lancaster (1860)”, in RAIL, number 947, page 58Synonyms: emergent, emerging, immature, inchoate, incipient, infant, in statu nascendi
- not comparableDescribing the state, aspect, or practice of an abstract concept.
For, as we have ſhewn, the original Uſe of it was to ſupport naſcent Hero-Worſhip.
1742, William Warburton, The Divine Legation of Moses Demonstrated, on the Principles of a Religious Deist, from the Omission of the Doctrine of a Future State of Reward and Punishment in the Jewish Dispensation., 2nd edition, volume 2, number 1, London: Fletcher Gyles, book IV, section 5, page 222 - not comparablechemistryOf the state of an element at the time it is being generated from some compound or transitioning from one state to another; Newly released from a compound (especially hydrogen and oxygen) by a chemical reaction or electrolysis and possessing heightened reactivity; Newly synthesized (especially protein or RNA) by translation or transcription.
There are no reasons for supposing that any of the residual atmospheric oxygen is immediately combined with fixed or nascent hydrogen, or hydrocarbonate, in the venous blood at 98°, by slow combustion, and consequently none for supposing that water is immediately formed in respiration.
1800, Humphry Davy, “Additional Observations and Experiments on the Respiration of Nitrous Oxide”, in John Davy, editor, The Collected Works of Sir Humphry Davy […] Researches, Chemical and Philosophical, Chiefly Concerning Nitrous Oxide, or Dephlogisticated Nitrous Air, and its Respiration., volume 3, London: Smith, Elder and Company, published 1839, Of the Changes Effected in Nitrous Oxide, and Other Gases, by the Respiration of Animals, page 250 - not comparablegovernmentNaissant.
[...] in chief a demi lion nascent gules.
1978, Paul J. Vandevander, The Van Deventer Family, 1550-19772 more examples
[…] charges of blazonry, bends sinister and bends dexter, lions couchant, lions nascent, and[…]
1874, G. Cameron, Charlie Lufton: An Autobiographical Novel, page 130Marks of the makers : the initials of the maker and the arms of the town : a lion nascent with three flames.
1931, Louis Carré, A Guide to Old French Plate - not comparableobsoletemathematicsDescribing a quantity of object that is starting to grow from zero or an infinitesimal beginning; Also the creation or identification of an infinitesimal delta.
Fluxions are very nearly as the Augments of the Fluents, generated in equal, but infinitely ſmall parts of Time ; and to ſpeak exactly, are in the Prime Ratio of the naſcent Augments : but they may be expounded by any Lines that are proportional to ’em.
1710, Sir Isaac Newton, “Quadrature of Curves”, in John Harris, editor, Lexicon Technicum: Or, An Universal English Dictionary of Arts and Sciences: Explaining Not only the Terms of Art, but the Arts Themselves, volume II, London: Dan. Brown et al., translation of Synopsis Palmariorum Matheseos
Synonyms & antonyms
adjectiveEmerging; just coming into existence.
More synonyms by meaning
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Latinnāscēns, nāscentis
- Englishnascent
Borrowed from Latin nāscēns, nāscentis, present participle of nāscor (“to be born”). Doublet of naissant.
More words from Latin
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Bulgarian зараждащ се, възникващ
- зараждащ се (zaraždašt se)emerging; just coming into existence
- възникващ (văznikvašt)emerging; just coming into existence
- насцентен (nascenten)in chemistry
Czech rodící se, vznikající
- rodící seemerging; just coming into existence
- vznikajícíemerging; just coming into existence
- nascentníin chemistry
Finnish aluillaan oleva, nuori
- aluillaan olevaemerging; just coming into existence
- nuoriemerging; just coming into existence
French naissant, émergent
- naissantemerging; just coming into existence
- émergentemerging; just coming into existence
German aufkeimend, im Entstehen begriffen
- aufkeimendemerging; just coming into existence
- im Entstehen begriffenemerging; just coming into existence
- werdendemerging; just coming into existence
- aufkommendemerging; just coming into existence
- frischgebackenemerging; just coming into existence
- gerade entstehendemerging; just coming into existence
- naszierendin chemistry
Hungarian születő, keletkező
- születőemerging; just coming into existence
- keletkezőemerging; just coming into existence
- kialakulóemerging; just coming into existence
- fejlődőemerging; just coming into existence
Icelandic sem er í myndun, sem er í mótun
- sem er í myndunemerging; just coming into existence
- sem er í mótunemerging; just coming into existence
- sem er að fæðastemerging; just coming into existence
Irish nuaghinte
- nuaghinteemerging; just coming into existence
Japanese 生まれそうな
- 生まれそうな (umaresōna)emerging; just coming into existence
Latin nāscēns
- nāscēnsemerging; just coming into existence
Norwegian nyfødt, nydannet
- nyfødtemerging; just coming into existence
- nydannetin chemistry
Polish powstający, rodzący się
- powstającyemerging; just coming into existence
- rodzący sięemerging; just coming into existence
Russian рожда́ющийся, зарожда́ющийся
- рожда́ющийся (roždájuščijsja)emerging; just coming into existence
- зарожда́ющийся (zaroždájuščijsja)emerging; just coming into existence
- возника́ющий (voznikájuščij)emerging; just coming into existence
- появля́ющийся (pojavljájuščijsja)emerging; just coming into existence
- образу́ющийся (obrazújuščijsja)emerging; just coming into existence
Spanish naciente, nasciente (disused)
- nacienteemerging; just coming into existence
- nasciente (disused)emerging; just coming into existence
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with nascent
All rhymes →Cite this entry
nascent. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/nascent
“nascent.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/nascent. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “nascent,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/nascent.
Source: nascent on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.