- to begin or originate
- to accept (new members) into an organization such as a club, through often secret ceremonies
- to teach fundamentals to
- initiated; begun
- a person who has been initiated, esp recently
- a beginner; novice
WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026
in•i•ti•ate /v. ɪˈnɪʃiˌeɪt; n. -ɪt, -ˌeɪt/USA pronunciation
v., -at•ed, -at•ing, n.
v. [~ + object]
n. [countable]
in•i•ti•a•tor, n. [countable]
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026v. [~ + object]
- to begin:initiated major social reforms.
- to introduce into the knowledge of a subject:He initiated her into calligraphy.
- to admit into the membership of a group:The club initiated twelve new members.
n. [countable]
- a person who has been initiated:The new initiates had to demonstrate their allegiance to the club.
in•i•ti•a•tor, n. [countable]
- See begin.
in•i•ti•ate
(v. i nish′ē āt′;adj., n. i nish′ē it, -āt′),USA pronunciation v., -at•ed, -at•ing, adj., n.
v.t.
adj.
n.
in•i′ti•a′tor, n.
v.t.
- to begin, set going, or originate:to initiate major social reforms.
- to introduce into the knowledge of some art or subject.
- to admit or accept with formal rites into an organization or group, secret knowledge, adult society, etc.
- Governmentto propose (a measure) by initiative procedure:to initiate a constitutional amendment.
adj.
- initiated;
begun. - admitted into an organizaton or group, secret knowledge, etc.
- introduced to the knowledge of a subject.
n.
- a person who has been initiated.
- Latin initiātus past participle of initiāre, equivalent. to initi(um) (see initial) + -ātus -ate1
- 1595–1605
- 1. commence; introduce, inaugurate, open. See begin. 2. teach, instruct, indoctrinate, train.
- 1. conclude.
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
initiate vb /ɪˈnɪʃɪˌeɪt/ (transitive)
'to initiate' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):
blood
- broach
- detonator
- hydrogen bomb
- induce
- induct
- initiative
- institute
- jack up
- lead
- lead off
- mystic
- pioneer
- primer
- proactive
- unarmed
- auspicate
- bear
- begin
- birth
- brown dwarf
- check
- do-nothing
- igniter
- initiate
- initiatory
- inset
- kick
- koji
- laser chemistry
- man
- originate
- pleasantry
- re-press
- touch
- trigger
- standing
- start-up