Incubate: meaning, example and synonyms
Incubatev. To develop or nurture an idea or project slowly until it is ready.
Example
The architect incubated the design for nearly a decade, sketching variations in notebooks before she presented a single plan to the city.
- Part of speech
- verb
- Synonyms
- nurture, develop, cultivate, hatch
- Antonyms
- abandon, neglect, rush
- Memory tip
- Like a hen warming an egg: an idea kept warm until it hatches.
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Check yourself: Incubate in context
Rather than announcing the project at once, the novelist preferred to ______ her ideas for months, letting characters and settings develop quietly in her notebooks.
Answer: incubate. Letting ideas develop quietly for months is nurturing them slowly: incubate. Derogate (disparage), venerate (revere) and appease (pacify) don't mean slowly developing ideas.
The university's program helps graduate students ______ early-stage ventures, offering them lab space and mentors for two years before the companies must stand on their own.
Answer: incubate. Supporting ventures for two years until they can stand alone is nurturing them: incubate. Derogate (belittle), indoctrinate (instill beliefs uncritically) and venerate (revere) don't fit growing companies.