initial

UK:**UK and possibly other pronunciationsUK and possibly other pronunciations/ɪˈnɪʃəl/US:USA pronunciation: IPA and respellingUSA pronunciation: IPA/ɪˈnɪʃəl/ ,USA pronunciation: respelling(i nish′əl)

Inflections of 'initial' (v): (⇒ conjugate)
When both "l" and "ll" forms exist, spellings with a double "l" are correct, but rare, in US English, while those with a single "l" are not correct in UK English.
initials
v 3rd person singular
initialling
v pres p (Mainly UK)
initialing
v pres p (US)
initialled
v past (Mainly UK)
initialed
v past (US)
initialled
v past p (Mainly UK)
initialed
v past p (US)

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026
in•i•tial /ɪˈnɪʃəl/USA pronunciation   adj., n., v., -tialed, -tial•ing or (esp. Brit.) -tialled, -tial•ling. 
adj. [usually: before a noun]
  1. of, relating to, or occurring at the beginning;
    first:the initial step in a process.

n. [countable]
  1. an initial letter, as of a proper name:Your initials are the first letters of your first and last name.

v. [~ + object]
  1. to mark or sign with the initials of one's name:initialed the report and filed it away.
in•i•tial•ly, adv. : Initially we didn't hear anything.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026
in•i•tial  (i nish′əl),USA pronunciation adj., n., v., -tialed, -tial•ing or (esp. Brit.) -tialled, -tial•ling. 
adj. 
  1. of, pertaining to, or occurring at the beginning;
    first:the initial step in a process.
  2. Phoneticsoccurring at the beginning of a word or syllable, as the (k) sound of kite, chasm, or quay.

n. 
  1. an initial letter, as of a word.
  2. the first letter of a proper name.
  3. a letter of extra size or an ornamental character used at the beginning of a chapter or other division of a book, manuscript, or the like.

v.t. 
  1. to mark or sign with an initial or the initials of one's name, esp. as a token of preliminary or informal approval.
  • Latin initiālis, equivalent. to initi(um) beginning (init-, noun, nominal derivative of inīre to enter, begin; in- in-2 + īre to go; compare comes) + -ium -ium) + -alis -al1
  • 1520–30
in•i′tial•er, n. 
in•i′tial•ly, adv. 

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
initial /ɪˈnɪʃəl/ adj
  1. of, at, or concerning the beginning
 n
  1. the first letter of a word, esp a person's name
  2. a large sometimes highly decorated letter set at the beginning of a chapter or work
  3. a cell from which tissues and organs develop by division and differentiation; a meristematic cell
 vb ( -tials, -tialling, -tialled) ( US -tials, -tialing, -tialed)
  1. (transitive) to sign with one's initials, esp to indicate approval; endorse
Etymology: 16th Century: from Latin initiālis of the beginning, from initium beginning, literally: an entering upon, from inīre to go in, from in-2 + īre to goinˈitialer, inˈitialler n inˈitially adv
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'initial' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):
a - acronym - acrostic - advance - allophone - an - aspirate - average - breathing - bud - butterfly effect - capital - Catherine of Aragon - clearway - develop - domino effect - en passant - final - finger - flesh - flying start - follow up - foot - germ - grow - head start - inceptive - initialize - initiate - IPO - I-spy - i.t.a. - Jacobite Rebellion - kayo - lead off - liaison - liftoff - long-acting - maiden - mission creep - multiplier - mutation - open - pawn - pee - Pelagianism - postulate - pralltriller - preset - A, a
Collocations: the initial [numbers, findings], the initial conditions for, in an initial state of, more...

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