initiative
Use Initiative in a sentence
i noun
1.
an introductory act or step; leading action: to take the initiative in making friends.
2.
readiness and ability in initiating action; enterprise: to lack initiative.
3.
one's personal, responsible decision: to act on one's own initiative.
4.
Government.
a.
a procedure by which a specified number of voters may propose a statute, constitutional amendment, or ordinance, and compel a popular vote on its adoption. Compare referendum ( def 1 ).
b.
the general right or ability to present a new bill or measure, as in a legislature.
adjective
5.
of or pertaining to formal admission or acceptance into a club or other group; signifying an initiation: The secret society's initiative events are best left undescribed.
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Initiative
is always a great word to know.
So is zedonk. Does it mean:
| a printed punctuation mark (‽), available only in some typefaces, designed to combine the question mark (?) and the exclamation point (!), indicating a mixture of query and interjection, as after a rhetorical question. |
| the offspring of a zebra and a donkey. |
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Link To initiative
Collins
World English Dictionary
initiative (ɪˈnɪʃɪətɪv, -ˈnɪʃətɪv) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —n | |
| 1. | the first step or action of a matter; commencing move: he took the initiative; a peace initiative |
| 2. | the right or power to begin or initiate something: he has the initiative |
| 3. | the ability or attitude required to begin or initiate something |
| 4. | government |
| a. the right or power to introduce legislation, etc, in a legislative body | |
| b. the procedure by which citizens originate legislation, as in many American states and Switzerland | |
| 5. | on one's own initiative without being prompted |
| —adj | |
| 6. | of or concerning initiation or serving to initiate; initiatory |
| in'itiatively | |
| —adv | |
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History
initiative
1793, "that which begins," also "power of initiating," from Fr. initiative (1567), from L. initiatus (see initiation). First attested in Eng. in writings of William Godwin. Phrase take the initiative first recorded 1856.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Slang Dictionary
initiative definition
|
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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American Heritage
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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Example sentences
The bride of good family need do nothing on her own initiative.
In practice, an individual is a leader if people follow his initiative, and become apprentices in his progressive discoveries.
Those who were able walked silently toward the suburbs in the distant hills, their spirits broken, their initiative gone.
Rate each initiative on the basis of how it aids strategy and then implement it accordingly.
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