initiation

American  

[ih-nish-ee-ay-shuhn] / ɪˌnɪʃ iˈeɪ ʃən /

noun

• initiations
  plural

1. formal admission or acceptance into an organization or club, adult status in one's community or society, etc.

2. the ceremonies or rites of admission.

3. the act of initiating.

4. the fact of being initiated.

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initiation British  

/ ɪˌnɪʃɪˈeɪʃən /

noun

1. the act of initiating or the condition of being initiated

2. the often secret ceremony initiating new members into an organization

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• preinitiation
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• initiations
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of initiation

First recorded in 1575–85, initiation is from the Latin word initiātiōn- (stem of initiātiō ). See initiate, -ion

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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.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

initiation initiations

"Delays in specimen collection, transportation and testing can postpone confirmation by days or weeks, which hinders the isolation of infected persons, contact tracing and the initiation of outbreak-control measures," Sullivan wrote.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 20, 2026

Hong Kong-listed InSilico is set to receive an initial $60 million in project initiation fees and near-term payments, and is eligible for milestone payments as well as tiered royalties on future sales, the people said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 1, 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

First, though, he gave Daniel Harding a proper L.A. initiation by taking the British conductor and soccer fan to a Dodger game.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 3, 2026

“I didn’t get a high enough score on my initiation intelligence test. So they said, ‘Spend your entire life cleaning up the research labs, or leave.’

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 the UK, the Rugby Football Union, the sport's governing body, has said initiations at university clubs are putting people off wanting to continue playing.

From BBC ● Jan. 9, 2019

Neither John Smith nor Powhatan understood or accepted their initiations.

From Textbooks ● Jan. 18, 2018

“State officials went from village to village, burning masks used in initiations and village sacrifices,” wrote Mike McGovern, a University of Michigan political anthropologist, in the book “Unmasking the State: Making Guinea Modern.”

From New York Times ● Nov. 16, 2014

“Well, yeah. You’ve got one of the worst initiations, and there’s that whole old-age thing.”

From "Insurgent" by Veronica Roth

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Related Words

• baptism
• commencement
• inauguration
• inception
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