budding

adjective

bud·​ding ˈbə-diŋ 

: being in an early stage of development

budding novelists

Synonyms

• nascent
• initial
• first
• incipient

Examples of budding in a Sentence

her budding career as a lawyer

the budding romance between the coworkers was the talk of the office

Recent Examples on the Web

As with most workplace comedies, there is at least one budding intra-office romance: Detrick, who can sell ads but isn’t great at reading the room, can’t hide his crush on Nicole, whose personality falls somewhere between reserved and inscrutable. —Kristen Baldwin, Entertainment Weekly, 3 Sep. 2025

Her attendance shocked and thrilled the world, but some people may also be confused how this budding romance began. —Doha Madani, NBC news, 26 Aug. 2025

Part of me hopes to see this continue to inspire generations of budding game art talent, but then the rest of me knows living up to this high water mark is nearly impossible. —David Jagneaux, Forbes.com, 25 Aug. 2025

Rodgers’ budding connection with Wilson and the second-year receiver’s surging performance over the last couple weeks may diminish the need to add from the outside, to a degree. —Mike Defabo, New York Times, 19 Aug. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1586, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for budding

• flooding
• scudding
• studding
• thudding