initial
Americanadjective
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of, relating to, or occurring at the beginning; first.
the initial step in a process.
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Phonetics. occurring at the beginning of a word or syllable, as the (k) sound of kite, chasm, or quay.
noun
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initials
plural
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an initial letter, as of a word.
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the first letter of a proper name.
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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.
verb (used with object)
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initials,
present (3rd person singular)
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initialed,
past participle, past
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initialled,
past participle, past (especially British)
-
initialing,
present participle
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initialling
present participle (especially British)
adjective
noun
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the first letter of a word, esp a person's name
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printing a large sometimes highly decorated letter set at the beginning of a chapter or work
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botany a cell from which tissues and organs develop by division and differentiation; a meristematic cell
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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initialernoun
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preinitialverb (used with object)
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subinitialverb (used with object)
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uninitialedadjective
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initiallyadverb
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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initialsimple
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initialssimple
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have initialedperfect
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have initialledperfect
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has initialedperfect
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has initialledperfect
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am initialingprogressive
-
am initiallingprogressive
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are initialingprogressive
-
are initiallingprogressive
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is initialingprogressive
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is initiallingprogressive
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have been initialingperfect progressive
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have been initiallingperfect progressive
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has been initialingperfect progressive
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has been initiallingperfect progressive
Past
-
initialedsimple
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initialledsimple
-
had initialedperfect
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had initialledperfect
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was initialingprogressive
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was initiallingprogressive
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were initialingprogressive
-
were initiallingprogressive
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had been initialingperfect progressive
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had been initiallingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of initial
First recorded in 1520–30; from Latin initiālis, equivalent to initi(um) “beginning” ( init-, noun derivative of inīre “to enter, begin”; in- in- 2 + īre “to go”; cf. comes) + -ium -ium ) + -alis -al 1
Explanation
The first letter of your name is your initial. The first thing you say to someone is your initial greeting. Initial is something that occurs first or at the beginning. If someone asks you to initial a form, they're asking you to sign by writing your initials on it. If your name is Inna Instant, you would write I.I., and you'd probably write it really quick! The first draft of a paper might be called your initial pass at getting your ideas down. If you say that these are your initial ideas, it implies that you will be coming up with more.
Vocabulary lists containing initial
Tier 2 Words for the SBAC ELA Items
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TEKS ELAR Academic Vocabulary List (5th-7th grades)
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Word Generation Science - Preparing a Scientific Investigation
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
As other companies race to push out new models and products, Meta will need to translate Muse’s initial buzz into an everyday consumer habit to stay in the lead.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 26, 2026
They experienced an initial full-quarter earnings decline of 13% that would be comparable in scale “with graduating into a large recession,” the authors wrote.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 25, 2026
Vertical said construction of the new aircraft would begin in late 2027 with an initial 25 being built every year before the company increases that number to 900 a year by 2035.
From BBC ● Sep. 25, 2026
One of Anthropic’s earliest investors, Tallinn stands to make billions in the coming months from the artificial-intelligence company’s expected initial public offering.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 25, 2026
After some initial confusion over how a sheep had suddenly materialized in the observatory, the children jostled for turns to look through the lens at the unsuspecting creature.
From "The Interrupted Tale" by Maryrose Wood
Some pointed to reports that the driver of the BMW had the initials NSC and was born in 1961, leading to speculation that he was a former member of parliament.
From BBC ● Aug. 23, 2026
She wears a pearl-trimmed French hood; a dark, square-necked gown with white lace, gold and pearl trim; a pearl necklace; and, with one exception, a pearl necklace with the pendant initials “AB” or “B.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 22, 2026
After getting fired, Eatherly pivoted, creating his own remodeling business, named after his initials, DLE Contracting.
From Slate ● Aug. 20, 2026
The former leader, known by his initials JOH, returned home on July 26, nearly eight months after Trump issued his shock pardon that overturned Hernandez's 45-year prison sentence.
From Barron's ● Aug. 3, 2026
Every caretaker who’d lived on the farm had carved his initials in the top.
From "The Old Willis Place" by Mary Downing Hahn
One of the invoices is initialed “SW” with “OK to pay” written by it.
From Washington Post ● Nov. 12, 2022
He testified to purchasing a car for $3,500 and initialed a blank sales agreement.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 3, 2022
Saint Laurent’s invite was pure luxury: A black leather wallet — initialed with the name of the respective guest — with YSL embossed in gold metal on the front.
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 6, 2022
At the very top, there are two giant joists initialed by workers from 1864.
From New York Times ● May 31, 2020
They must be the two men the librarian suspected would be back to see if their note on the bulletin board had been read and initialed.
From "On the Far Side of the Mountain" by Jean Craighead George
He reminded the jury of that evidence, including a memo the former president initialled authorising a pay cut for another executive for the exact amount of his perk, rent paid by the company.
From BBC ● Dec. 7, 2022
Medinsky said Russia had made a second major de-escalatory step by agreeing to a possible meeting of the two countries’ presidents at the same moment that a peace agreement was initialled.
From Reuters ● Mar. 29, 2022
Agreements would also be initialled with Georgia and Moldova.
From BBC ● Oct. 15, 2013
President Mohamed Mursi's government initialled an IMF deal in November but postponed ratification in December due to unrest ignited by a political row over the extent of Mursi's powers.
From Reuters ● Apr. 3, 2013
“That is correct, Monsieur. My handkerchiefs are always initialled in the Russian characters. H is N in Russian.”
From "Murder on the Orient Express" by Agatha Christie
Sometimes, I think back to initialing the bark, or nailing a plank of wood into the trunk, or breaking a branch by accident.
From Washington Post ● Jan. 19, 2023
Scott McDonell, the Dane County clerk, said the man is a poll worker, and the video shows him initialing ballots before they were handed out to voters.
From Seattle Times ● Nov. 11, 2022
But he turned out to be a poll worker in Wisconsin conducting the standard procedure of initialing ballots for voters.
From New York Times ● Nov. 9, 2022
He was initialing ballots to be handed out to voters, a standard procedure mandated by state law, said Dane County Clerk Scott McDonell.
From Seattle Times ● Nov. 8, 2022
He would inquire, at least have the girl and her aunt into his court and get a good look at them before performing his routine function of initialing the legal form.
From Clark's Field by Robert Herrick
Lawless had acted on an impulse in initialling her programme as he had done—a recurrence, even though slight, of the old midsummer madness.
From Grit Lawless by F.E. Mills Young
While Mollie and Grace closed their eyes, Betty dug idly in the sand, and Amy produced a handkerchief and a tiny embroidery frame and began initialling a corner.
From The Outdoor Girls at Ocean View Or, The Box That Was Found in the Sand by Laura Lee Hope
This is the Epeira’s trade-mark, the flourish of an artist initialling his creation.
From The Life of the Spider by Alexander Teixeira de Mattos
This is the Epeira's trade-mark, the flourish of an artist initialling his creation.
From The Wonders of Instinct Chapters in the Psychology of Insects by Alexander Teixeira de Mattos
He was very preoccupied, pinning up cheques and initialling some important customer's paying-in book.
From Somehow Good by William Frend De Morgan
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
