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Synonyms

institute

American  
[in-sti-toot, -tyoot] / ˈɪn stɪˌtut, -ˌtyut /

verb (used with object)

instituted, instituting
  1. to set up; establish; organize.

    to institute a government.

  2. to inaugurate; initiate; start.

    to institute a new course in American literature.

  3. to set in operation.

    to institute a lawsuit.

  4. to bring into use or practice.

    to institute laws.

  5. to establish in an office or position.

  6. Ecclesiastical. to assign to or invest with a spiritual charge, as of a parish.


noun

  1. a society or organization for carrying on a particular work, as of a literary, scientific, or educational character.

  2. the building occupied by such a society.

  3. Education.

    1. an institution, generally beyond the secondary school level, devoted to instruction in technical subjects, usually separate but sometimes organized as a part of a university.

    2. a unit within a university organized for advanced instruction and research in a relatively narrow field of subject matter.

    3. a short instructional program set up for a special group interested in a specialized field or subject.

  4. an established principle, law, custom, or organization.

  5. institutes,

    1. an elementary textbook of law designed for beginners.

    2. Also called Institutes of Justinian(initial capital letter) an elementary treatise on Roman law in four books, forming one of the four divisions of the Corpus Juris Civilis.

  6. something instituted.

institute British  
/ ˈɪnstɪˌtjuːt /

verb

  1. to organize; establish

  2. to initiate

    to institute a practice

  3. to establish in a position or office; induct

  4. to install (a clergyman) in a church

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

noun

  1. an organization founded for particular work, such as education, promotion of the arts, or scientific research

  2. the building where such an organization is situated

  3. something instituted, esp a rule, custom, or precedent

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

  • institutor noun
  • reinstitute verb (used with object)
  • uninstituted adjective
  • well-instituted adjective

Etymology

Origin of institute

First recorded in 1275–1325; Middle English, from Latin institūtus, past participle of instituere “to set, put up, establish,” equivalent to in- ”in” + -stitū- (combining form of statū-, stem of statuere “to place upright, set, stand” ) + -tus past participle suffix; in- 2, stand

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.

They are based on data provided by about 100 different organisations, including government agencies, research institutes, voluntary groups and citizen science schemes such as the UK Butterfly Monitoring Scheme.

From BBC

Second, when substitutes or workarounds can’t be instituted in time to mitigate the disruption.

From The Wall Street Journal

"This was a great example of collaboration across labs and institutes to enable new discoveries in neuroscience."

From Science Daily

Zhang is also an investigator at the McGovern Institute for Brain Research at MIT, a core institute member at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, and an investigator in the Howard Hughes Medical Institute.

From Science Daily

Boryana Dimitrova of the Alpha Research polling institute, which has tracked public opinion on the euro for a year, told AFP any problems with euro adoption would be seized on by anti-EU politicians.

From Barron's