Meaning & use
initiative
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Meanings
noununcountable
The ability to decide what to do and begin doing it without waiting to be told.
Grammar: Usually has no article: show initiative, or take the initiative.
Patterns
- take the initiative
- show initiative
- on your own initiative
She showed great initiative by fixing the problem before anyone asked.
He took the initiative and called the client himself.
The manager praised the intern's initiative.
nouncountable
A new plan or project started to solve a problem or reach a goal.
Grammar: Countable: a new initiative, several initiatives.
Patterns
- an initiative to do something
- an initiative on something
The city launched an initiative to plant ten thousand trees.
A new health initiative offers free checkups.
The school started a reading initiative for young children.
nounsingular
The advantage held by the person or side that acts first.
Grammar: Used with the: lose the initiative, seize the initiative.
Patterns
- seize the initiative
- lose the initiative
The home team seized the initiative in the second half.
The army lost the initiative after the storm.
By acting early, the company kept the initiative.
Word forms
| plural | initiatives |
|---|
Common combinations
- take the initiative
- If you see a problem, take the initiative to fix it.
- show initiative
- Employees who show initiative get promoted quickly.
- on your own initiative
- She cleaned the lab on her own initiative.
- launch an initiative
- The government launched an initiative on clean water.
- lack initiative
- He was kind but seemed to lack initiative.
- seize the initiative
- The challenger seized the initiative early in the match.
Synonyms and how they differ
- enterprise
- Enterprise suggests boldness in starting new ventures, while initiative is more about not waiting for orders.
- drive
- Drive is a strong inner push to achieve, whereas initiative is the act of starting something yourself.
- scheme
- A scheme is an organized plan and can sound sneaky in British English, while an initiative is a positive project.
- project
- A project is any planned piece of work, but an initiative implies a fresh start aimed at a problem.
Opposites
Word family
- initiate verb
- to start something
- initial adjective
- happening at the beginning
- initiation noun
- the act of beginning something, or being admitted to a group
- initiator noun
- a person who starts something
Commonly confused: initiative or initiation?
initiative vs initiation
Initiation is the act of starting something or being admitted to a group, while initiative is the ability to act on your own.
Practice
Nobody told Maria to reorganize the storeroom; she did it entirely on her own ___.
Choose one answer.
On your own initiative means by your own decision, without being told. Initiation is the start of a process, and instruction would mean she was told.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “initiative”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.