Meaning of “initiate” in English Dictionary

"initiate" in British English

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initiateverb [T]

uk us /ɪˈnɪʃ.i.eɪt/

initiate verb [T] (START)

C2 formal to cause something to begin: Who initiated the violence?

More examples

Hague initiated a series of reforms of the Conservative Party.
Some of the orders are initiated directly on the trading floor.
The council initiates its own studies and carries out research at the request of private organizations.
He is credited with initiating several new literary forms.
The Commission has power to initiate legislation.

initiate verb [T] (TEACH)

› to teach someone about an area of knowledge, or to allow someone into a group by a special ceremony: At the age of eleven, Harry was initiated into the art of golf by his father. Each culture had a special ritual to initiate boys into manhood.

initiatenoun [C]

uk us /ɪˈnɪʃ.i.ət/ formal

› a person who has recently joined a group and has been taught its secrets

(Definition of initiate from the Cambridge Advanced Learners Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)

"initiate" in American English

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initiateverb [T]

us /ɪˈnɪʃ·iˌeɪt/

initiate verb [T] (BEGIN)

› to cause something to begin: The peace talks were initiated by a special envoy.

initiate verb [T] (ACCEPT IN GROUP)

› to signal the acceptance of someone into a group by a special ceremony

(Definition of initiate from the Cambridge Academic Content Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

"initiate" in Business English

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initiateverb [T]

uk us /ɪˈnɪʃieɪt/ formal

› to begin something: The automaker initiated a programme to improve the recyclability of its automobiles at the end of their useful life.initiate proceedings/an action against sb/sth The bank initiated legal proceedings against a former employee for fraud.

(Definition of initiate from the Cambridge Business English Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

Translations of “initiate”
in Chinese (Simplified)	开始, 开始，创始…
in Turkish	başlamak, başlatmak, önayak olmak…
in Russian	начинать, вводить, принимать…
in Chinese (Traditional)	開始, 開始，創始…
in Polish	zapoczątkować, zainicjować, wprowadzać…

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Definitions of “initiate” in other dictionaries

Learner's

SMART Thesaurus: Ceremonies

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You can also find related words, phrases, and synonyms in the topics:

Starting and beginning

Teaching in general

Supporters, members & defenders

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Blog

Does that sound like a plan? (Making plans)

by Kate Woodford,

August 12, 2015

This week we’re looking at the sort of things we say to our friends when we are planning to do something together – the words and phrases that we naturally use when we are looking at our calendars and fixing a time and a place to do something. You will probably start