definition of initiate
If you press the red button, you'll activate weapons of mass destruction and initiate a global war. As a verb, initiate means to start. As a noun, initiate (short a) means to be part of a group. Initiate is a tricky little devil because you pronounce the last bit one way as a verb (i-ni-she-ate) and another when it's a noun (i-in-she-at). If you're an initiate, you've been introduced to a field of study, an activity, etc. You can be a novice or a veteran.