Initiate Meaning
/ɪˈnɪʃ.i.eɪt/Definition, CEFR level C1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
verbTo begin; to start.
verbTo instruct in the rudiments or principles; to introduce.
Sentence Examples
"I'll do my best" often means "I'll initiate nothing".
"I'll do my best" often means "I won't initiate anything".
The team plans to initiate the project early next week.
CEFR Practice Quiz
To start the machine, you must ____ the power button by pressing it.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The committee decided to ____ a new program to help the homeless people living in the city center.
Word Origin & History
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.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"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:
"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:
"A U235 bomb would therefore need to incorporate a gun weighing ten tons. Then there was the question of initiating or triggering the bomb."
— 2011, Jim Baggott, The First War of Physics, Pegasus Books, →ISBN:
"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:
Explore More C1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
To start the machine, you must ____ the power button by pressing it.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The committee decided to ____ a new program to help the homeless people living in the city center.