initiation
- 01 B2 Upper Intermediate
the act of starting a new plan, process, or activity.
the act of beginning or originating a process, project, or sequence of events.
Simple“The initiation of the new safety rules helped reduce accidents at the factory.”
In context“The rapid initiation of emergency protocols prevented the minor technical glitch from escalating into a full-scale system failure.”
UsageOften followed by the preposition 'of'.
SynonymsAntonyms - 02 B2 Upper Intermediate
a ceremony or set of actions that someone must complete to join a club or organization.
a formal ritual or set of requirements marking the admission of an individual into a specific group, society, or order.
Simple“The club has a secret initiation for all new members.”
In context“The university fraternity faced heavy criticism after reports surfaced regarding the dangerous nature of their annual initiation rites.”
Teacher's tipIn modern contexts, this often refers to university clubs or professional organizations, but it can also describe traditional tribal or religious ceremonies.
- 03 C1 Advanced
the very first step in a chemical reaction or a biological process.
the preliminary stage of a chemical reaction or a molecular process such as transcription or translation.
Simple“The initiation of the reaction requires a small amount of heat.”
In context“The research team focused on the initiation phase of protein synthesis to understand how certain genetic mutations occur.”
UsageCommonly used in biochemistry and polymer chemistry to describe the start of a chain reaction.
SynonymsAntonyms
“Doctor Ternhamar concluded: "In individuals developing type 2 diabetes, statins were associated with a lower risk of dementia, most pronounced in those with early initiation.”
“But his vampire family still don’t know he’s actually a human and they want him to pass his initiation ceremony in front of the whole community of Katchem-By-the-Throat.”
Borrowed from Middle French initiation, from Latin initiātiō. Morphologically initiate + -ion.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.