If you’re just starting a vocabulary study program, you might not have a clear idea of what you want to learn, whether you have a specific goal or deadline, or how you will organize your studies and achieve your goals. In other words, your study program is at a rather inchoate stage at this point.

Etymology, the history of words, is a very useful part of any vocabulary study program. If we look at the etymology of the word inchoate we find that the word comes from the Latin incohatus, meaning “having been started.” If you know the history of a word, you will also get useful information on its meaning, and on other related words.

English words are classified into categories – nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, prepositions, and so on – that are generally called “parts of speech.” When you first learn a word, make sure you also learn what part of speech the word is. Inchoate is an adjective, a word that is used to describe a noun.

When learning a new word, it’s important to also learn how to spell and pronounce it correctly. Inchoate is pronounced “in-KOH-it.” This is potentially confusing, because many words with the letter pair ch in them contain the “ch” sound, as in the word church. Other words use a “k” sound for the ch letter combination (chiropractor, for example). Be sure you’ve identified the correct spelling as well as the correct pronunciation of a new word so that you can use it effectively in both written and spoken communication.

Of course, a word isn’t very useful until you know what it means! Learning the definition of a word gives you the information you need to use the word correctly in context. The definition of inchoate is “immature, recently started, not yet organized or finished.” Part of learning a word’s definition is learning what other words mean the same thing (synonyms) or have the opposite meaning (antonyms). Learning synonyms and antonyms each time you learn one new word multiplies your vocabulary by that much more. Some synonyms for inchoate are amorphous and rudimentary and two antonyms are mature and developed.

To pull all of the pieces of your word study together, create some examples of how the word is used in a sentence. This gives you practice in using the word correctly, and also helps you make sure you truly understand the word’s meaning. Here’s a sample sentence using the word inchoate:

Example: At the beginning of the year, the school board had only inchoate plans for improving the curriculum, but as the time went on, the teachers and staff were able to work with each other and develop sound policies for the district.

Learn how to effectively shape your vocabulary study program using these six principles, and you’ll get solid results!