inchoate

adjective | \ in-ˈkō-ət, ˈiŋ-kō-ˌāt \ | in·cho·ate

1. a : not yet made complete, certain, or specific : not perfected — see also inchoate lien at lien

   b : not yet transformed into actual use or possession until an employee has earned his retirement pay…[it] is but an inchoate right —Peterson v. Fire & Police Pension Ass'n, 759 P.2d 720 (1988)

2. : of or relating to a crime (as attempt, solicitation, or conspiracy) which consists of acts that are preliminary to another crime and that are in themselves criminal — compare choate