INITIATOR Synonyms: 42 Similar and Opposite Words

initiator

noun

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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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 initiator His expectations fell after a forgettable Las Vegas Summer League, where much was made of his attempts as an on-ball initiator. — Joel Lorenzi, New York Times, 11 Sep. 2026 Reaching out to express gratitude, offer help, or simply listen is consistently rated as more rewarding by the recipient than the initiator expects. — Julie Kratz, Forbes.com, 9 Aug. 2026 Repurposing a prototype One of the scientists, and the initiator of the record-creating project, was Pierre Léna. — Dhananjay Khadilkar, ArsTechnica, 7 Aug. 2026 The researchers used liquid metal particles (LMPs) as initiators for polymerization, the chemical process used to form the hydrogel network. — Georgina Jedikovska, Interesting Engineering, 3 June 2026 His top recommendation for the latter was Pitzock, the restaurant run by his uncle Oskar Messner, one of the initiators of the Slow Food movement in the valley and among the most knowledgeable sources in the region on local ingredients and tradition. — Jenn Rice, Travel + Leisure, 7 May 2026 Los Angeles also employed Luke Kennard as a ballhandler and initiator, and guard Marcus Smart is back after missing nearly three weeks with a right ankle injury. — ABC News, 14 Apr. 2026 Peterson is breathtakingly talented as a scorer and on-ball initiator, but health concerns have marred an otherwise impressive freshman season. — Julia Poe, Chicago Tribune, 10 Mar. 2026 History suggests that wars aimed at reshaping political systems hardly ever unfold as their initiators intend. — Thomas Wright, The Atlantic, 6 Mar. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for initiator

Noun

Another ideological ally is Peter Thiel, a co-founder of software firm Palantir who temporarily moved his family to Buenos Aires in April.

— Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 3 Oct. 2026
Axios reported in June that Virtue AI co-founders Bo Li, Dawn Song, and Sanmi Koyejo were joining Meta along with other employees from the startup.

— Ashley Gold, semafor.com, 2 Oct. 2026

Definition of founder

Noun

Atlantika Films’ Nano Arrieta-creator and producer with Claudia Ruíz — shares the writing room with Popy Blasco, Ibai Ariztegi and Bárbara Zemelman.

— Annika Pham, Variety, 6 Oct. 2026
Official outlets can quote from posts on fake accounts whose creators masquerade as ordinary members of the public, making a fringe claim seem normal.

— RENÉE DIRESTA, Foreign Affairs, 5 Oct. 2026

Definition of creator

Noun

But McCloud has been exhibiting them annually at Psychedelic San Francisco Gallery on Bicycle Day, an unofficial celebration of the first LSD trip, taken by its inventor, scientist Albert Hofmann, in 1943 while on a bike ride home from the lab.

— Brian Boucher, ARTnews.com, 30 Sep. 2026
Michelson, a billionaire philanthropist and medical inventor, is the co-founder of the not-yet-open California Institute for Immunology and Immunotherapy, an independent medical research organization affiliated with UCLA.

— Tarini Mehta, Sacbee.com, 25 Sep. 2026

Definition of inventor

Noun

That figure is the first half of the show’s title, the activist, author, and playwright Larry Kramer, who co-founded Gay Men’s Health Crisis and ACT UP and was instrumental in bringing the AIDS crisis to public attention.

— Sara Holdren, Vulture, 5 Oct. 2026
Steinbeck’s novel is largely centered around the Hamiltons (who emigrate from Ireland to the author’s beloved Salinas Valley) and the Trasks (who move to California from the East Coast).

— Max Gao, Variety, 4 Oct. 2026

Definition of author

Noun

Ellison clinched the deal by sweetening the offer price and bringing his father, Larry Ellison, in to personally guarantee funding.

— Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 7 Oct. 2026
Gyllenhaal’s father, Stephen Gyllenhaal, is a director and her mother, Naomi Foner, a screenwriter.

— Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 7 Oct. 2026

Definition of father

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“Initiator.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/initiator. Accessed 7 Oct. 2026.

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