initiatives

IPA/ɪˈnɪʃ.ə.tɪv/
KK[ˌɪnˈɪʃətɪvz]IPA/ɪˈnɪʃ.ə.t̬ɪv/

initiatives — noun

  • initiativessingular
  • initiativesingular
  • initiativesesplural

1. organized actions or programmes that are started to deal with a problem or bring

1.nounC1
Definition

organized actions or programmes that are started to deal with a problem or bring about change.

Example

The mayor announced three safety initiatives after the bridge inspection report.

launch initiatives after a problem is found

Our school funded student-led initiatives to reduce food waste in the cafeteria.

initiatives to + verb

Common collocations
  • launch initiatives
  • community initiatives
  • green initiatives
  • safety initiatives
  • support initiatives
Synonyms
  • measure

    often narrower and more practical than a broad initiative

  • programme

    suggests a more structured and continuing plan

  • campaign

    emphasises public action or persuasion rather than administration

Grammar Patterns

launch initiatives

initiatives to + verb

community/environmental initiatives

Usage Note

Usually refers to organised actions from governments, companies, schools, or community groups. In the plural it often names several related projects under one larger goal.

Common Mistakes

The company announced three new initiative last week.
The company announced three new initiatives last week.
After a number, use the plural form 'initiatives'.

2. the quality of deciding what needs to be done and acting without waiting for ins

2.nounC1
Definition

the quality of deciding what needs to be done and acting without waiting for instructions.

Example

Owen showed initiative and called the plumber before the ceiling collapsed.

show initiative

The manager values initiative more than excuses when problems appear.

Common collocations
  • show initiative
  • use initiative
  • take initiative at work
  • initiative in solving problems
Synonyms
  • resourcefulness

    stresses clever problem-solving as well as willingness to act

  • enterprise

    more formal and often linked to energetic ambition

  • self-reliance

    focuses on not depending on other people for decisions

Antonyms

Grammar Patterns

show initiative

use initiative

initiative in + gerund

Usage Note

Usually singular and uncountable. Often appears after show or use, and it describes a person's working style rather than a plan or project.

Common Mistakes

She showed many initiatives at work.
She showed a lot of initiative at work.
This sense is uncountable, so English normally uses singular 'initiative'.

3. used in the phrase 'on your own initiative' to say that you chose to act without

3.nounC1
Definition

used in the phrase 'on your own initiative' to say that you chose to act without being asked or ordered.

Example

Élise contacted the landlord on her own initiative after the leak returned.

on her own initiative

The nurse stayed late on her own initiative to comfort the child's parents.

Common collocations
  • on your own initiative
  • on her own initiative
  • on his own initiative
Synonyms
  • independently

    broader; it does not always imply a self-started decision

  • voluntarily

    stresses willingness, not necessarily personal judgment

  • without prompting

    close in meaning, especially when nobody asked the person to act

Grammar Patterns

on your own initiative

on somebody's own initiative

Usage Note

This fixed phrase usually follows a verb of action such as contact, leave, or investigate. Distinguish it from sense 2: here the focus is one decision to act, not a person's general character.

Common Mistakes

He left early on his own initiatives.
He left early on his own initiative.
This fixed phrase normally uses singular 'initiative'.

4. the chance to control what happens next in a game, argument, battle, or campaign

4.nounC1
Definition

the chance to control what happens next in a game, argument, battle, or campaign, so others must react to you.

Example

After halftime, our team took the initiative and attacked down both wings.

take the initiative

The opposition lost the initiative when Renata exposed the budget gap.

lose the initiative

Common collocations
  • take the initiative
  • seize the initiative
  • regain the initiative
  • lose the initiative
Synonyms
  • advantage

    broader; it does not always involve controlling the next move

  • momentum

    stresses growing force rather than deliberate control

  • upper hand

    informal; focuses on being in a stronger position

Antonyms

Grammar Patterns

take the initiative

seize the initiative

lose/regain the initiative

Usage Note

Very common with take, seize, keep, regain, and lose. It is often used in sport, politics, argument, and military reporting, where one side forces the other to react.

Common Mistakes

Our team won an initiative in the second half.
Our team took the initiative in the second half.
English usually uses set phrases like 'take' or 'seize the initiative'.

5. the opening move that starts a longer process or makes later action possible.

5.nounC2
Definition

the opening move that starts a longer process or makes later action possible.

Example

The pilot mentoring scheme was the first initiative in a wider reform.

the first initiative in + noun phrase

Opening the village clinic was an initiative that changed local life.

Common collocations
  • first initiative
  • initiative that started
  • initiative to begin change
Synonyms

Grammar Patterns

the first initiative in + noun phrase

an initiative that + clause

Usage Note

Often used when one action begins a longer process of change. Distinguish it from sense 1: the focus here is the opening move itself, not the full programme behind it.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

An initiative is a purposeful action that is started to improve a situation or move a plan forward. A measure is often narrower and more practical, such as one safety rule or one price change. A programme usually sounds larger, more organised, and longer-term, often with funding, staff, and several parts. A campaign stresses public effort, persuasion, or visibility, especially in politics, health, or advertising. A city might launch a recycling initiative, add one emergency measure during a storm, run a school meal programme, and organize a road-safety campaign. Choose initiative when the important idea is a fresh step taken to create change, not just one rule or a publicity drive.

initiative ↗measure ↗programme ↗campaign ↗

Etymology

LatinFrenchEnglish

Initiatives comes from initiative, a word that reached English through French from Latin roots connected with beginning. The Latin noun initium meant 'a beginning', and related Latin forms carried the idea of starting something or leading it in. That history still shows in the modern meanings: an initiative can be an action that starts change, a first step that sets later events in motion, or the chance to lead before someone else does.

First known use

1793

1793, in the meaning defined at sense 1