initiation
Americannoun
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initiations
plural
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formal admission or acceptance into an organization or club, adult status in one's community or society, etc.
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the ceremonies or rites of admission.
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the act of initiating.
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the fact of being initiated.
noun
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the act of initiating or the condition of being initiated
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the often secret ceremony initiating new members into an organization
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of initiation
First recorded in 1575–85, initiation is from the Latin word initiātiōn- (stem of initiātiō ). See initiate, -ion
Explanation
The initiation of something is the beginning. It's what sets events in motion, gets the party underway, or kicks off a new program. An initiation can also be an introduction into something, formally or informally. You might undergo an initiation ceremony when you join the Girl Scouts for the first time, or have a rude initiation into the world of traffic law when you get your first speeding ticket. But beware of the initiation rituals for college frats — you could find yourself swallowing a live goldfish or streaking across campus in your tighty-whiteys.
Vocabulary lists containing initiation
Divergent
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Long Way Down
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Purple Hibiscus
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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:
Howe has high hopes for “The Body,” about badly behaved Catholic school girls who have prophetic visions after a dance team initiation goes awry.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2026
The recent deal comes after Yum! announced “the initiation of a formal review of strategic options” for Pizza Hut back in Nov. 2025.
From Salon ● Jun. 22, 2026
It responded after Netanyahu and his foreign minister issued a statement saying they had ordered the "initiation of a defamation lawsuit".
From BBC ● May 15, 2026
The IRS criminal investigation unit’s staff decreased by 13% last year, diverting agents and reducing the initiation of routine criminal tax cases.
From Barron's ● Apr. 9, 2026
She smells like coconut oil and she feels strong, exactly like she was during initiation into Dauntless, when she hung over the chasm by her fingertips.
From "Insurgent" by Veronica Roth
The initiations from JPMorgan, Bank of America, KeyBanc Capital Markets, and Jefferies frame Forgent as a play on one of the tightest bottlenecks in the AI buildout: electrical distribution equipment.
From Barron's ● Mar. 2, 2026
In Candomblé, which mixes Yoruba, Fon and Bantu beliefs, initiations typically require people to remain secluded for around 21 days: “I had no way of contacting the outside world.”
From New York Times ● Apr. 7, 2022
Neither John Smith nor Powhatan understood or accepted their initiations.
From Textbooks ● Jan. 18, 2018
"We have big parties for the initiations where we dance and sing, and feel good."
From BBC ● Nov. 19, 2016
“Well, yeah. You’ve got one of the worst initiations, and there’s that whole old-age thing.”
From "Insurgent" by Veronica Roth
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.
