Word.ws English Dictionary

initiate

Syllables: ini·ti·ate/ɪˈnɪʃ.i.eɪt/

initiate verb: to begin; to start.

Verb

initiate (third-person singular simple present initiates, present participle initiating, simple past and past participle initiated)

  1. (transitive) To begin; to start.
    • How are changes of this sort to be initiated?1860, Isaac Taylor, “(please specify the page)”, in Ultimate Civilization and Other Essays, London: Bell and Daldy […], →OCLC
    • This is a very strong move, aptly timed. It initiates the tactical conception which routs Black's hopes.1961 February, Max Euwe, “How to Win in the Ending”, in Chess Review
    Synonyms:
    commence, institute
  2. (transitive) 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.1653, Henry More, An Antidote against Atheisme, or An Appeal to the Natural Faculties of the Minde of Man, whether There Be Not a God, London: […] Roger Daniel, […], →OCLC
    • to initiate his pupil in any part of learning1693, [John Locke], “§94”, in Some Thoughts Concerning Education, London: […] A[wnsham] and J[ohn] Churchill, […], →OCLC
    Synonyms:
    induct
  3. (transitive) To confer membership on; especially, to admit to a secret order with mysterious rites or ceremonies.
    • The Athenians believed that he who was initiated and instructed in the mysteries would obtain celestial honour after death.1738–1741, William Warburton, The Divine Legation of Moses […], volume (please specify |volume=I, II.1, or II.2), London: […] Fletcher Gyles, […], →OCLC
    • He was initiated into half a dozen clubs before he was one and twenty.1714 August 14 (Gregorian calendar), [Joseph Addison], “TUESDAY, August 4, 1714”, in The Spectator, number 576; republished in Alexander Chalmers, editor, The Spectator; a New Edition, […], volume...
  4. (intransitive) 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.1725–1726, Homer, “Book 3”, in [William Broome, Elijah Fenton, Alexander Pope], transl., The Odyssey of Homer. […], London: […] Bernard Lintot, →OCLC

Noun

IPA/ɪˈnɪʃ.i.ət/

initiate (plural initiates)

  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.
    Antonyms:
    noninitiate, novice

Adjective

IPA/ɪˈnɪʃ.i.ət/

initiate (comparative more initiate, superlative most initiate)

  1. (obsolete) Unpracticed, untried, new.
    • the initiate fear that wants hard usec. 1606 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Macbeth”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount...
  2. (obsolete) Begun, commenced, introduced to or in the rudiments (of), newly admitted.
    • To rise in science as in bliss, / Initiate in the secrets of the skies.1744, [Edward Young], “Night the Sixth. The Infidel Reclaim’d. In Two Parts. Containing, the Nature, Proof, and Importance of Immortality. Part the First. […]”, in The Complaint: Or, Night-Thoughts...

initiate meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Urdu and Bengali

initiate in Hindi

to initiate
आरंभ करना ārambh karnā

initiate in Tamil

துவங்கு, தொடங்கு, தொடங்கு முயற்சி எடு, முன்னெடு

initiate in Urdu

to initiate
آرمبھ کرنا ārambh karnā

initiate in Bengali

সূচনা করা, প্রবর্তন করা, দীক্ষিত করা
More languagesFewer languages
initiate in Malayalam
പ്രാരംഭിക്കുക, മൂലസൂത്രം പഠിപ്പിക്കുക, ആരംഭിക്കുക, പ്രാഥമികതത്ത്വങ്ങൾ ഉപദേശിക്കുക
initiate in Kannada
ಆರಂಭಿಸು, ಶುರುಮಾಡು, ಉಪಕ್ರಮಿಸು, ಹುಟ್ಟು ಹಾಕು
initiate in Sanskrit
पूज् pūj
initiate in Tagalog
magsimula, mag-umpisa
initiate in Arabic
بَادَرَ bādara, عُضْو جَدِيد ʕuḍw jadīd, مُنْتَسِب muntasib
initiate in Persian
آغازیدن, آغازاندن

Examples of initiate in a sentence

  • Indigenous people, such as agriculturists, hunters, and pastoralists initiated a system of totemism and tabooism which in essence was a natural law against killing and eating certain animals.1978, David Dhlalangami Maforo, Black-white Relations in Kenya Game Policy, page 5:
  • Prior to firing the laser, a surgeon can preilluminate the area to be cut or ablated, enlarge or reduce the area, shape, or size, and then initiate the UV laser pulses for the actual ablation.2014, David L. Elliott, Ultraviolet Laser Technology and Applications, page 320:
  • The fracture had been caused by fatigue initiated by corrosion pitting on the axle surface.2026 March 18, Greg Morse, “1996 crash driving freight reforms”, in RAIL, number 1057, page 51:

All 40 example sentences with initiate

Synonyms of initiate

Antonyms

2 more antonymsFewer antonyms

All synonyms and antonyms of initiate

Forms of initiate

Verb
third-person singular presentinitiates
present participleinitiating
past participleinitiated
pastinitiated
Noun
pluralinitiates
Adjective
comparativemore initiate
superlativemost initiate

Past tense of initiate: initiated

Plural of initiate: initiates

Origin of initiate

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.

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

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

Words formed from initiate

Words that rhyme with initiate

Questions about initiate

What does initiate mean?
Initiate means to begin; to start.
What is initiate in Hindi?
Initiate in Hindi is आरंभ करना (ārambh karnā). See Initiate meaning in Hindi.
How do you use initiate in a sentence?
Indigenous people, such as agriculturists, hunters, and pastoralists initiated a system of totemism and tabooism which in essence was a natural law against killing and eating certain animals.
What part of speech is initiate?
Initiate can be a verb, a noun or an adjective.
How do you pronounce initiate?
Initiate is pronounced /ɪˈnɪʃ.i.eɪt/.
What is the past tense of initiate?
The past tense of initiate is initiated.

Words near initiate in the dictionary

  1. initialness
  2. initials
  3. initiand
  4. initiands
  5. initiary
  6. initiate
  7. initiated
  8. initiatee
  9. initiatees
  10. initiates
  11. initiateth

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: initiate (page history and authors); आरंभ करना (Hindi) (page history and authors); initiate (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); آرمبھ کرنا (Urdu) (page history and authors); Initiate (Bengali Wiktionary) (page history and authors); initiate (Malayalam Wiktionary) (page history and authors); initiate (Kannada Wiktionary) (page history and authors); पूज् (Sanskrit) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Cite this entry: “initiate.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/initiate. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.