initiate
initiate Lexical Profile
initiate Game Scores & Validity
• verb
To cause a process, action, or event to begin.
"The university decided to initiate a comprehensive review of its undergraduate curriculum."
To admit someone into a secret or obscure society or group, typically with a ritual.
"The elders will initiate the new members into the guild at the annual banquet."
To introduce someone to a particular skill, subject, or field of knowledge.
"Her mentor helped initiate her into the complexities of international patent law."
• noun
A person who has been recently admitted into an organization, society, or group, typically through a formal rite or ceremony.
"The new initiates pledged their loyalty to the fraternity during the candlelight ceremony."
• adjective
Admitted to or instructed in the secret knowledge, rites, or foundational principles of a group or field.
"Only those already initiate in the society's ancient traditions were permitted inside the inner chamber."
Word Nuance & Usage
Note the pronunciation shift across parts of speech: as a verb, the final syllable is pronounced with a long 'a' (/ɪˈnɪʃieɪt/), whereas as a noun or adjective, the final syllable is reduced to an unstressed schwa (/ɪˈnɪʃiət/).
• Rhymes for initiate
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
Borrowed in the early 16th century from Latin initiatus, the past participle of initiare ('to begin, originate, or admit to secret rites'), derived from initium ('a beginning or entrance'), literally meaning 'a going in' (from in- 'into' + ire 'to go').