as in founder
a person who establishes a whole new field of endeavor
as the initiator of printing from movable type, Gutenberg revolutionized people's access to written language
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Recent Examples of initiator
His focus was less on scoring and more on orchestrating plays, acting as the primary initiator of the Spurs’ offense.
—
Evan Dammarell, MSNBC Newsweek, 14 Oct. 2025
Plenty of brands already offer or are transitioning to TPO-free formulas that contain different photoinitiators (a chemical that makes gel polishes cure under a lamp instead of air-drying like regular polish) such as TPO-L, BAPO, or other resin initiators.
—Hannah Nwoko, Parents, 5 Sep. 2025
Wheeler was the initiator, Marcus Smith said Tuesday.
—Scott Fowler, Charlotte Observer, 26 Aug. 2025
The term point forward gets thrown around a lot, but Thomas legitimately serves as Phoenix’s offensive initiator.
—Sabreena Merchant, New York Times, 25 Aug. 2025
Among the customers of our online prenup platform, First, roughly 50% of our prenup initiators are women.
—Libby Leffler, Fortune, 24 Aug. 2025
The president has previously incorrectly framed Ukraine as the initiator of the conflict, which began with Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022.
—David Brennan, ABC News, 18 Aug. 2025
Compared to summer 2024, when fashion was heavily influenced by pop stars like Sabrina Carpenter, Chappell Roan and Brat initiator Charli XCX, this summer almost breezed by without a dominant fashion core or aesthetic to chase.
—Angela Velasquez, Sourcing Journal, 15 Aug. 2025
Recent initiators on high potency Wegovy and Zepbound—who started treatment in 2024—appear to be staying on their medications longer.
—Joshua P. Cohen, Forbes.com, 5 Aug. 2025
Evan Dammarell, MSNBC Newsweek, 14 Oct. 2025
Plenty of brands already offer or are transitioning to TPO-free formulas that contain different photoinitiators (a chemical that makes gel polishes cure under a lamp instead of air-drying like regular polish) such as TPO-L, BAPO, or other resin initiators.
—Hannah Nwoko, Parents, 5 Sep. 2025
Wheeler was the initiator, Marcus Smith said Tuesday.
—Scott Fowler, Charlotte Observer, 26 Aug. 2025
The term point forward gets thrown around a lot, but Thomas legitimately serves as Phoenix’s offensive initiator.
—Sabreena Merchant, New York Times, 25 Aug. 2025
Among the customers of our online prenup platform, First, roughly 50% of our prenup initiators are women.
—Libby Leffler, Fortune, 24 Aug. 2025
The president has previously incorrectly framed Ukraine as the initiator of the conflict, which began with Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022.
—David Brennan, ABC News, 18 Aug. 2025
Compared to summer 2024, when fashion was heavily influenced by pop stars like Sabrina Carpenter, Chappell Roan and Brat initiator Charli XCX, this summer almost breezed by without a dominant fashion core or aesthetic to chase.
—Angela Velasquez, Sourcing Journal, 15 Aug. 2025
Recent initiators on high potency Wegovy and Zepbound—who started treatment in 2024—appear to be staying on their medications longer.
—Joshua P. Cohen, Forbes.com, 5 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for initiator
Noun
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Paris dominated global fashion traffic, accounting for 49 percent of views compared with 25 percent for Milan, 17 percent for New York and 9 percent for London, Tagwalk founder and chief executive officer Alexandra Van Houtte said during a presentation on Thursday.—
Joelle Diderich,
Footwear News,
16 Oct. 2025
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But so far, no other competitors — including Boeing and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin — have been able to offer anything close to what SpaceX has.—
Denise Chow,
NBC news,
16 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Of that group of six, two (Weapons and Sinners) were spun whole cloth from their creators' imaginations, with The Black Phone, Final Destination, and The Conjuring follow-ons from franchises that began as original IP.—
Ryan Coleman,
Entertainment Weekly,
19 Oct. 2025
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The brand has also gotten a boost from TikTok, where content creators share videos of their Comfort Colors products that viewers can purchase via the platform's shopping feature.—
Alex Harring,
CNBC,
19 Oct. 2025
Noun
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The original Nobel Prizes — in physics, chemistry, medicine, literature and peace — have been awarded since the turn of the last century, in keeping with the wishes of their namesake, the inventor and businessman Alfred Nobel.—
Scott Horsley,
NPR,
13 Oct. 2025
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Those prizes were established in the will of Swedish dynamite inventor and businessman Alfred Nobel and have been handed out since 1901, with a few interruptions mostly due to the world wars.—
Simon Johnson,
USA Today,
13 Oct. 2025
Noun
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There were some limitations to the research, the authors acknowledged.—
Melissa Rudy,
FOXNews.com,
20 Oct. 2025
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The views and opinions expressed in this column are the author's and do not necessarily reflect those of USA TODAY.—
Jennifer Jolly,
USA Today,
20 Oct. 2025
Noun
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The reason the belief is so strong is because of the lessons his father, Lionel Sr,.—
Nick Friedell,
New York Times,
16 Oct. 2025
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It’s been two years since Nowell became the lead singer in Sublime, the same band once headed by his late father, Bradley Nowell.—
George Varga,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
16 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Initiator.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/initiator. Accessed 22 Oct. 2025.
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