initiative

noun

A beginning; a first move.

The ability to act first or on one's own.

A new development; a fresh approach to something; a new way of dealing with a problem.

(politics) An issue to be voted on, brought to the ballot by a sufficient number of signatures from among the voting public.

adjective

(US) In which voter initiatives can be brought to the ballot.

(archaic) Serving to initiate.

Roots

eoit- · Latin · go

Synonyms for initiative

inauguraladj initiatoryadj enterprisen firstn mandaten leadershipn

Synonyms & related words for initiative

Find synonyms, related words, and the definition of initiative — including inaugural, initiatory, enterprise, first, mandate, leadership. Dendril is a free visual thesaurus that shows them on an interactive map where stronger matches sit closer to the center — no signup, no ads.

Words related to initiative

Explore words related to initiative — words associated with it, words that go with it, and its nearest matches in meaning. Related words include project, partnership, innovation, campaign, spearheaded, groundbreaking, venture, innovative. Click any word to make it the center of the map and keep exploring the web of connections.

Synonyms for initiative

Common synonyms for initiative include inaugural, initiatory, enterprise, first, mandate, leadership — words that share a close meaning. Hover or tap any word on the map for its definition and part of speech.

Where does initiative come from?

The word initiative breaks down into one root of Latin origin: the root it-, from Latin eo (“go”). Explore each root to see other English words built from the same source.