Initiate

//ɪˈnɪʃ.i.eɪt// adj, noun, verb

adj, noun, verb ·Common ·High school level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A new member of an organization.
  2. 2
    people who have been introduced to the mysteries of some field or activity wordnet
  3. 3
    One who has been through a ceremony of initiation.
  4. 4
    someone who has been admitted to membership in a scholarly field wordnet
  5. 5
    One who is oriented in and familiar with a topic or subject; especially, one who is an expert in it.
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  1. 6
    someone new to a field or activity wordnet
Verb
  1. 1
    To begin; to start. transitive

    "How are changes of this sort to be initiated?"

  2. 2
    set in motion, start an event or prepare the way for wordnet
  3. 3
    To instruct in the rudiments or principles; to introduce. transitive

    "Divine Providence would only initiate and enter mankind into the useful knowledge of her, leaving the rest to employ our industry."

  4. 4
    bring up a topic for discussion wordnet
  5. 5
    To confer membership on; especially, to admit to a secret order with mysterious rites or ceremonies. transitive

    "The Athenians believed that he who was initiated and instructed in the mysteries would obtain celestial honour after death."

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  1. 6
    bring into being wordnet
  2. 7
    To do the first act; to perform the first rite; to take the initiative. intransitive

    "The king himself initiates to the power; Scatters with quivering hand the sacred flour, And the stream sprinkles."

  3. 8
    take the lead or initiative in; participate in the development of wordnet
  4. 9
    accept people into an exclusive society or group, usually with some rite wordnet
Adjective
  1. 1
    Unpracticed, untried, new. obsolete

    "the initiate fear that wants hard use"

  2. 2
    Begun, commenced, introduced to or in the rudiments (of), newly admitted. obsolete

    "To rise in science as in bliss, / Initiate in the secrets of the skies."

Synonyms

All synonyms
broachintroducenoviceoriginateabecedarianaccept

Example

More examples

""I'll do my best" often means "I'll initiate nothing"."

Etymology

Etymology 1

Borrowed from Latin initiātus, perfect passive participle of initiō (“to begin, originate”) (see -ate (verb-forming suffix)), from initium (“a beginning”) + -ō (verb-forming suffix), from initus (“an entrance, coming in, approach”) + -ium, from ineō + -tus, from in- + eō (“to go”). Cognate with French initier.

Etymology 2

From a substantivization of the adjective, see -ate (noun-forming suffix) and Etymology 1 for more. Cognate with French initié (“an initiate, neophyte”).

Etymology 3

Borrowed from Latin initiātus, see -ate (adjective-forming suffix) and Etymology 1 for more.

Related phrases

self-initiate

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.