From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishinitiatei‧ni‧ti‧ate1 /ɪˈnɪʃieɪt/ ●○○ AWL verb [transitive] 1 formalSTART DOING something to arrange for something important to start, such as an official process or a new plan They have decided to initiate legal proceedings against the newspaper. Intellectuals have initiated a debate on terrorism.2 KNOW somethingto tell someone about something or show them how to do somethinginitiate somebody into something Those kids were initiated into heroin use at a young age.3 SSOJOIN AN ORGANIZATIONto introduce someone into an organization, club, group etc, usually with a special ceremonyinitiate somebody into something At the age of thirteen, the boys in the tribe are initiated into manhood.→ See Verb table
Examples from the Corpus
initiate• The rebels appear to have initiated a new stage in the war when they crossed the border into Dagestan yesterday morning.• But if you'd also been able to identify me then they would certainly have initiated an investigation.• Goldstein fully expects an Architecture-Neutral Distribution Format product programme to be initiated during 1994.• It is not clear what initiates HAPCs.• Peace talks have been initiated in an attempt to avert full scale war.• The couple plan to initiate legal proceedings against the police.• The Profitboss initiates policies and practices that ensure all employees are consistently treated.• A large number of companies have initiated recycling programs.• You may be initiating the correspondence.• Finally, after deliberation, it was decided to initiate the Peace Corps program despite misgivings about working under a military regime.• They are the verbs which should initiate the style of movement needed to sustain a ballet.initiate somebody into something• My grandmother initiated me into the mysteries of quilting.initiatei‧ni‧ti‧ate2 /ɪˈnɪʃiət/ noun [countable] SSOJOIN AN ORGANIZATIONsomeone who has been allowed to join a particular organization, club, or group and has been taught its secretsExamples from the Corpus
initiate• The Nagas should be regarded as the initiates and the guardians of the ancient esoteric knowledge.• Its esoteric meaning is of the domain of the scholar rather than the layman - of the initiate rather than the priest.• He's one of the initiates, and in my opinion that counts for, and perhaps even excuses, a lot.• Nothing can prepare the initiate for this first breathtaking vision of the planet for which he has been designated steward.• The Lesser Mysteries, celebrated in winter, prepared the initiate for taking part in the Greater Mysteries the following autumn.• Rising, he turned to the initiates and raised that cup, now glowing. 