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
-
initialling
present participle (especially British)
adjective
noun
-
the first letter of a word, esp a person's name
-
printing a large sometimes highly decorated letter set at the beginning of a chapter or work
-
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
-
initialssimple
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have initialedperfect
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have initialledperfect
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has initialedperfect
-
has initialledperfect
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am initialingprogressive
-
am initiallingprogressive
-
are initialingprogressive
-
are initiallingprogressive
-
is initialingprogressive
-
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
-
has been initiallingperfect progressive
Past
-
initialedsimple
-
initialledsimple
-
had initialedperfect
-
had initialledperfect
-
was initialingprogressive
-
was initiallingprogressive
-
were initialingprogressive
-
were initiallingprogressive
-
had been initialingperfect progressive
-
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:
Sources say the issue is not shin splints but an impact injury, which is not quite the same as the initial problem.
From BBC ● Oct. 28, 2026
Anthropic’s upcoming public-market debut has stirred up investor interest in finding ways to get exposure to the artificial-intelligence company, both before its initial public offering and after the highly anticipated IPO.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 28, 2026
Still, many of them rebounded this week after Anthropic unveiled long-awaited paperwork for an initial public offering, showcasing data about its revenue growth, profitability and breadth of customers.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 28, 2026
But by the end of March and a month after getting their initial cash infusion, they were struggling to keep up with the daily payments.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 28, 2026
Apollo himself inscribed the petals—some say with Hyacinth’s initial, and others with the two letters of the Greek word that means “Alas”; either way, a memorial of the god’s great sorrow.
From "Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes" by Edith Hamilton
The room still features a personalized touch: an island bearing Foreman’s initials, “G.F.”
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 21, 2026
Messages on its walls included: "RIP The Boys", "Never Be Forgotten RIP The Lads", and the initials of those in the car with "Rest easy boys".
From BBC ● Aug. 26, 2026
The 34-year-old man asked to be identified by his initials, A.S., over concerns about his immigration case.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2026
The United Arab Emirates reported there was no local transmission when the patient, known by his initials M.S., was there.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 6, 2026
Called the Pa-Ja-Mo—or, colloquially, the Pajama—paper, after the initials of the three authors, the study was instantly a classic, with vast implications for biology.
From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee
The wallet, initialed G.H., contained a New York Times article describing plans for the offensive in which he ultimately died.
From Seattle Times ● May 26, 2024
During his summation, Steinglass pointed to a document that had been initialed by Trump and called it “explicit” proof of his knowing that his executives were tinkering with expenses to reduce their tax liabilities.
From Washington Post ● Dec. 6, 2022
He testified to purchasing a car for $3,500 and initialed a blank sales agreement.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 3, 2022
At the very top, there are two giant joists initialed by workers from 1864.
From New York Times ● May 31, 2020
The next day, in Paris, Kissinger and Le Duc Tho initialed the deal to end the Vietnam War.
From "Most Dangerous: Daniel Ellsberg and the Secret History of the Vietnam War" by Steve Sheinkin
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
Each man had a sole-leather trunk on his shoulder, a trunk so new that the initialing "G. V. S." was still wet.
From The Messenger by Elizabeth Robins
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
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
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
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
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
