- the act of initiating or the condition of being initiated
- the often secret ceremony initiating new members into an organization
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026
in•i•ti•a•tion
(i nish′ē ā′shən),USA pronunciation n.
- formal admission or acceptance into an organization or club, adult status in one's community or society, etc.
- the ceremonies or rites of admission. Cf. rite of passage.
- the act of initiating.
- the fact of being initiated.
- Latin initiātiōn- (stem of initiātiō). See initiate, -ion
- 1575–85
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
initiation /ɪˌnɪʃɪˈeɪʃən/ n
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.
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'initiation' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):
bora
- Hell's Angel
- initiative
- springboard
- baptism
- bastardize
- beginning
- blooding
- clitoridectomy
- countdown
- fraternity
- hell week
- induction
- kipper
- Knight of the Bath
- mystagogue
- oncogene
- paid-in
- protostar
- replicon
- telesterion
- twice-born
- secret society
