incipient (ĭn-SĬP-ē-ənt)

Definition

(Adjective) Beginning; commencing; coming into, or in an early stage of, existence; in an initial stage.

In Context

“The whiff of incipient anarchy in Iraq in recent days has provided a prospect so terrifying as to concentrate the minds of Republicans and Democrats, Iraq’s sectarian political factions, and even the media.”

Robert D. Kaplan, “Salvation from a Hobbesian World,” The Jerusalem Post, March 6, 2006.