initiation

[ ih-nish-ee-ey-shuhn ]
See synonyms for initiation on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. formal admission or acceptance into an organization or club, adult status in one's community or society, etc.

  2. the ceremonies or rites of admission.: Compare rite of passage.

  1. the act of initiating.

  2. the fact of being initiated.

Origin of initiation

1
First recorded in 1575–85, initiation is from the Latin word initiātiōn- (stem of initiātiō). See initiate, -ion

Other words from initiation

  • pre·in·i·ti·a·tion, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use initiation in a sentence

  • Many of these students have granted their own initiations, in keeping with a tradition of over 1,000 years.

    Buddhist Retreat’s Death Saga | Lizzie Crocker | July 10, 2012 | THE DAILY BEAST
  • They must go through the initiations necessary to impress this upon them.

    Pagan & Christian Creeds | Edward Carpenter
  • The initiations into the Katipunan were grotesque in the extreme.

    The Katipunan | J. Brecknock Watson (AKA Francis St. Clair)
  • But the cruelty of savage initiations has been purified away.

    The Homeric Hymns | Andrew Lang
  • The sight made an American think of college fraternities conducting outdoor initiations.

    The Glory of The Coming | Irvin S. Cobb
  • Their initiations gave their new inmate at first an almost dazzling sense of culture.

    The Pupil | Henry James

British Dictionary definitions for initiation

initiation

/ (ɪˌnɪʃɪˈeɪʃən) /


noun
  1. the act of initiating or the condition of being initiated

  2. the often secret ceremony initiating new members into an organization

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012