initiation
Americannoun
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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:
His initiation dance in front of the Ghana squad went viral.
From BBC ● Jun. 23, 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
The initiation alone doesn’t fully explain the stock’s upward momentum.
From Barron's ● Jun. 1, 2026
Because they failed to complete initiation into whatever faction they chose, they live in poverty, doing the work no one else wants to do.
From "Divergent" 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
Neither John Smith nor Powhatan understood or accepted their initiations.
From Textbooks ● Jan. 18, 2018
I put to her that if this is her logic, then initiations for her are more about cold hard cash than ancient traditions.
From BBC ● Nov. 19, 2016
Five men ranging in age from 18 to 20 were charged in connection to initiations at homes and at Milton High School in 2011 and 2012.
From Washington Times ● Sep. 13, 2016
Many initiations followed, but I was not allowed to Felicia’s last one, her asiento.
From "Dreaming in Cuban" by Cristina García
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.
