English Explanatory Dictionary

initiate

English dictionary entry

Meanings

verb
  1. To begin; to start.
  2. To instruct in the rudiments or principles; to introduce.
  3. To confer membership on; especially, to admit to a secret order with mysterious rites or ceremonies.
  4. To do the first act; to perform the first rite; to take the initiative.
noun
  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.
adj
  1. Unpracticed, untried, new.
  2. Begun, commenced, introduced to or in the rudiments (of), newly admitted.

Pronunciation

/ɪˈnɪʃ.i.eɪt/ /ɪˈnɪʃ.ɪ.eɪt/ LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-initiate.wav LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-initiate2.wav /ɪˈnɪʃ.i.ət/ /ɪˈnɪʃ.ɪ.ət/

Word forms

initiate initiates initiating initiated more initiate most initiate

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”). Cognate with French initier.

Synonyms

commence institute

Antonyms

pause halt suspend discontinue finish conclude complete stop end cease noninitiate novice

Related words

initiable initial initialism initialize initials initiation initiative initiator resume

Derived words

initiatee initiatic noninitiated noninitiating overinitiate overinitiated photoinitiate photoinitiated preinitiated reinitiate self-initiate uninitiate uninitiated
This entry uses open data from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA/GFDL). Word forms are used for search and are not indexed as separate pages.
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