initiateverb [ T ]
uk/ɪˈnɪʃ.i.eɪt/us/ɪˈnɪʃ.i.eɪt/initiate verb [ T ] (START)
C2 formal to cause something to begin:
Who initiated the violence?
More examples
- Hague initiated a series of reforms of the Conservative Party.
- Some of the orders are initiated directly on the trading floor.
- The council initiates its own studies and carries out research at the request of private organizations.
- He is credited with initiating several new literary forms.
- The Commission has power to initiate legislation.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Starting and beginning
- be in the first flush of idiom
- become
- begin
- branch out
- break into sth
- export
- ground
- incipient
- initiator
- instate
- introduce
- kick
- kick-start
- strike
- swing into action idiom
- touch sth off
- train
- trigger
- wade in
- weave
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initiate verb [ T ] (TEACH)
to teach someone about an area of knowledge, or to allow someone into a group by a special ceremony:
At the age of eleven, Harry was initiated into the art of golf by his father.
Each culture had a special ritual to initiate boys into manhood.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Ceremonies
- cavalcade
- ceremonial
- ceremony
- commemorate
- commencement
- hara-kiri
- induction
- investiture
- knight
- master of ceremonies
- MC
- nuptials
- pageant
- ritual
- salute
- solemnize
- speech day
- state occasion
- the red carpet
- troop
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You can also find related words, phrases, and synonyms in the topics:
Teaching in general
initiatenoun [ C ]
uk/ɪˈnɪʃ.i.ət/us/ɪˈnɪʃ.i.ət/formala person who has recently joined a group and has been taught its secrets
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Supporters, members & defenders
- -arian
- -ista
- apologist
- apparatchik
- benefactor
- cadre
- camp follower
- campaigner
- cardholder
- champion
- chaperone
- cohort
- company man
- contributor
- evolutionist
- new/fresh blood idiom
- referee
- renegade
- respecter
- stakeholder
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