incipient, insipid

Incipient means to be at the very early stages of appearing or becoming detectable. It derives from the Latin word for “inception.” Incipient is often used to describe diseases or health conditions.

Insipid means “bland” or “dull” or “without zest.” The word often appears with food but can also describe dull people or boring experiences.

Incipient is commonly used to describe things that are far from dull but still in their early stages, such as diseases.

Example: The incipient Roman culture, 50 years before the birth of Christ, prevented the next 500 years from being as insipid as the previous 500.