initiative
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initiative
- /ɪˈnɪʃ.ə.tɪv/
Rhymes with -ɪʃətɪv
Where it comes from
From French initiative, from Medieval Latin *initiativus (“serving to initiate”), from Late Latin initiare (“to begin, to initiate”), from Latin initium (“beginning”), from ineo (“enter, begin”). By surface analysis, initiate + -ive.
adjective
-
Serving to initiate.
As for Apollos he was skillfull in the Scriptures, and mightily confuted the Iewes by them, he had more then this initiative wisedome, and knew better the difference betweene the baptisme of Christ, and of Iohn, then it seemeth this Iesuite doth.
Similar: inceptive, initiatory, introductory, preliminary
-
In which voter initiatives can be brought to the ballot.
The second row shows that initiative states fill more constitutional offices by election than noninitiative states, and the difference is statistically significant after controlling for region and population.
Opposite: noninitiative
noun initiatives
- A beginning; a first move. Pastor Moses says the initiative was born of pragmatism, compassion toward all Sri Lankans, and a desire to model the same generosity he experienced as a young person. […] Not only are all religions welcome at the Voice Community Kitchen, but experts also say such initiatives could be key to improvi
- A new development; a fresh approach to something; a new way of dealing with a problem.
- The ability to act first or on one's own. The theoretical source, or rather justification, of that machine was Lenin's conviction that the party, by virtue of its scientific knowledge of society, is the one legitimate source of political initiative.
- An issue to be voted on, brought to the ballot by a sufficient number of signatures from among the voting public.
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: initiatory, inaugural, go-ahead, first, enterprise, opening, enterprisingness, maiden, first step, opening move, initiation, initiate, projet, project, operation, initiator
Translations
Every language
adj serving to initiate
| Português | iniciativo, iniciador |
|---|---|
| Italiano | iniziale, preliminare |
| עברית | יוזם yozém, התחלתי hatkhalatí |
noun a beginning; a first move
| Español | iniciativa |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 계획 gyehoek, 주도, 개시 gaesi, 구상 gusang |
| 日本語 | イニシアティブ inishiatibu, 開始 kaishi, 先制 sensei, 先手 sente, 主導 shudō, 構想 kōsō |
| 中文 | 倡議 /倡议 chàngyì, 創始 /创始 chuàngshǐ, 主動 /主动 zhǔdòng, 開始 /开始 kāishǐ, 主導 /主导 zhǔdǎo, 構想 /构想 gòuxiǎng |
| हिन्दी | पहल pahal |
| Português | iniciativa |
| Français | initiative |
| Deutsch | Initiative |
| Italiano | iniziativa |
| Ελληνικά | πρωτοβουλία protovoulía |
| Română | inițiativă |
| Русский | инициати́ва iniciatíva, почи́н počín, нача́ло načálo |
| العربية | مُبَادَرَة mubādara |
| עברית | יוזמה, יׇזְמָה yozmá |
noun a new development; a fresh approach to something; a new way of dealing with a problem
| Español | iniciativa |
|---|---|
| Français | initiative |
| Deutsch | Initiative |
| Italiano | proposta |
| Ελληνικά | πρωτοβουλία protovoulía |
| Русский | инициати́ва iniciatíva, начина́ние načinánije |
| العربية | مُبَادَرَة mubādara |
| עברית | יוזמה, יׇזְמָה yozmá |
noun the ability to act first or on one's own
| 한국어 | 진취력 jinchwiryeok, 진취성 jinchwiseong |
|---|---|
| 中文 | 主動權 /主动权 zhǔdòngquán |
| Português | iniciativa |
| Français | initiative |
| Deutsch | Initiative |
| Italiano | intraprendenza |
| Ελληνικά | πρωτοβουλία protovoulía |
| Română | inițiativă |
| Русский | инициати́ва iniciatíva, предприи́мчивость predpriímčivostʹ |
| العربية | مُبَادَرَة mubādara |
| עברית | יוזמה, יׇזְמָה yozmá |
noun issue to be voted on
| Italiano | iniziativa |
|---|---|
| Русский | инициати́ва iniciatíva |
| עברית | משאל עם ביוזמת האזרחים |
Talk about this word "initiative." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/initiative. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. initiative. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/initiative "initiative." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/initiative.Cite this
@misc{initiative_2026,
title = {initiative},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/initiative},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
