initiate
//ɪˈnɪʃ.i.eɪt//
formalForms
- present (v1)
- initiate
- past (v2)
- initiated
- past participle (v3)
- initiated
- present participle
- initiating
- 3rd person singular
- initiates
- Plural
- initiates
Definitions
1.To begin; to start.
- How are changes of this sort to be initiated?
- This is a very strong move, aptly timed. It initiates the tactical conception which routs Black's hopes.
- A U235 bomb would therefore need to incorporate a gun weighing ten tons. Then there was the question of initiating or triggering the bomb.
2.To instruct in the rudiments or principles; to introduce.
- Divine Providence would only initiate and enter mankind into the useful knowledge of her, leaving the rest to employ our industry.
3.To confer membership on; especially, to admit to a secret order with mysterious rites or ceremonies.
- He was initiated into half a dozen clubs before he was one and twenty.
- The Athenians believed that he who was initiated and instructed in the mysteries would obtain celestial honour after death.
4.To do the first act; to perform the first rite; to take the initiative.
- The king himself initiates to the power; Scatters with quivering hand the sacred flour, And the stream sprinkles.
1.A new member of an organization.
2.One who has been through a ceremony of initiation.
3.One who is oriented in and familiar with a topic or subject; especially, one who is an expert in it.
Frequency
Overall
Uncommon· #3839
By learning goal
- Everyday conversation
- Rare
- General reading & writing
- Uncommon
- Academic
- Uncommon
- Literature
- Rare
Related words
Word family
Etymology
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”).