initiative

noun

i-ˈni-shə-tiv How to pronounce initiative (audio)
Definition of initiativenext
as in ambition
readiness to engage in daring or difficult activity the sentry showed remarkable initiative and uncommon bravery in foiling the terrorist attack

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of initiative Young people enrolled in Netflix and National Youth Theatre’s Ignite Your Creativity initiative will contribute across performance, production and broadcast roles for the show. — Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 14 July 2026 Google and Cypress Creek are creating an $8 million fund to support local schools, food security programs and community initiatives in Mississippi County, according to a news release. — Sydney Sasser, Arkansas Online, 14 July 2026 Harriette Cole is a lifestylist and founder of DREAMLEAPERS, an initiative to help people access and activate their dreams. — Harriette Cole, Mercury News, 14 July 2026 The Secretary of State’s Office said Tuesday that an initiative that would have put the question before voters did not garner enough signatures to make it on the November ballot. — Becca Savransky, Idaho Statesman, 14 July 2026 See All Example Sentences for initiative
Recent Examples of Synonyms for initiative
  1. ambition
  2. action
  3. enterprise
Noun
  • The decline primarily stems from Goldman's sale of its Apple credit card business to JPMorgan — a smart move to pare back its consumer banking ambitions.
    — Kevin Stankiewicz, CNBC, 14 July 2026
  • Tailing basins, designed to hold the byproducts of extraction, grow taller and taller, as if humans and our ambition were competing against nature.
    — Cristina Dorador, The Dial, 14 July 2026
Definition of ambition
Noun
  • This week, Steve Hilton, the GOP candidate for California governor, wrote a letter to FCC Chairman Brendan Carr, urging him to rescind the agency’s recent action allowing AT&T to end its copper landline service.
    — Jenny Jarvie Follow, Los Angeles Times, 10 July 2026
  • As climate action group Floodlight found in a recent investigation spotted by Wired, Texas has become the epicenter of the United States’ current obsession with constructing AI data centers.
    — Victor Tangermann, Futurism, 9 July 2026
Definition of action
Noun
  • The two chief executives are just a few months removed from a lawsuit in which Musk, one of the founders of OpenAI, accused Altman of deceit and breach of contract by shifting the company from its nonprofit mission to a for-profit enterprise.
    — Antonio Pequeño IV, Forbes.com, 11 July 2026
  • Later in the morning, a missile strike in the ‌port city of Odesa killed two people and wounded another, ‌while a drone hit a civilian enterprise in the eastern city of Kharkiv, wounding seven.
    — Reuters, NBC news, 11 July 2026
Definition of enterprise

Phrases Containing initiative

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initiations
initiative
initiator
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Cite this Entry

“Initiative.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/initiative. Accessed 16 Jul. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on initiative

Nglish: Translation of initiative for Spanish Speakers

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about initiative

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