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initiate

/ɪˈnɪʃ.i.eɪt/noun, verb4 syllables

Initiate means: someone new to a field or activity.

Synonyms for initiate16

noun, as in someone new to a field or activity

novice, beginner, tyro, tiro

noun, as in someone who has been admitted to membership in a scholarly field

learned person, pundit, savant

noun, as in people who have been introduced to the mysteries of some field or activity

enlightened

verb, as in bring into being

originate, start

verb, as in take the lead or initiative in; participate in the development of

pioneer

verb, as in accept people into an exclusive society or group, usually with some rite

induct

verb, as in bring up a topic for discussion

broach

verb, as in set in motion, start an event or prepare the way for

lead up

also used for initiate

commence, institute

Includes material from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Opposites of initiate

uninitiate

What does initiate mean?8

noun

1

someone new to a field or activity

2

someone who has been admitted to membership in a scholarly field

3

people who have been introduced to the mysteries of some field or activity“it is very familiar to the initiate”

verb

1

bring into being“He initiated a new program”

2

take the lead or initiative in; participate in the development of“This South African surgeon pioneered heart transplants”

3

accept people into an exclusive society or group, usually with some rite“African men are initiated when they reach puberty”

4

bring up a topic for discussion

5

set in motion, start an event or prepare the way for“Hitler's attack on Poland led up to World War II”

Definitions from the Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Initiate in a sentence

  • Politicians initiate wars, not ordinary people who suffer from them.Ergulis
  • The prime minister can initiate a vote of confidence.Miktsoanit
  • You shouldn't wait for changes to come – you should initiate them yourself.althead
  • She initiates a lot of projects but seldom completes one.Tangobango
  • You will be initiating the discussion for this activity.AJ_110
  • Bouteflika initiated many costly projects with little oversight.Amastan
  • Bouteflika's projects were big and prestigious but they were initiated with little oversight.Amastan
  • These methods get invoked first when a touch is initiated.ATES

Sentences from Tatoeba, CC BY 2.0 FR, credited to their authors.

Forms of initiate

as a noun

plural
initiates

as a verb

past tense
initiated
present participle
initiating
third-person singular
initiates
past participle
initiated