initiatory

[ ih-nish-ee-uh-tawr-ee, -tohr-ee ]

adjective

1. introductory; initial:

   an initiatory step toward a treaty.

2. serving to initiate or admit into a society, club, etc.

initiatory

/ ɪˈnɪʃɪˌətərɪ /

adjective

1. of or concerning initiation or serving to initiate; initiative

Other Words From

• in·i·ti·a·to·ri·ly [ih-nish-ee-, uh, -, tawr, -, uh, -lee, -, tohr, -, ih-, nish, -ee-, uh, -tawr-, uh, -lee, -tohr-], adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of initiatory¹

First recorded in 1605–15; initiate + -ory ¹

Example Sentences

“Then they started to speak to me, these erased, blotted-out things. They were both terminal and initiatory. They were little windows where, if I bent down to them, I could hear something.”

From The New Yorker

That initiatory dinner consisted of mashed potatoes and jellied cranberry sauce from the can, a dish he loved because its sweet-and-sour flavor tasted faintly of home.

From New York Times

Simultaneously with the early subjugation of the country, the political, educational, commercial and social initiatory movements were made of whose present development the people of Puget Sound may well be proud.

From Project Gutenberg

Perceiving that a young squire is receiving an initiatory lesson into the art of driving; or that a jibbing horse, or a race with an opposition coach, is endangering your existence.

From Project Gutenberg

And when he had said "Good-bye" to Miss Walshingham and she had repeated her invitation to call, he went upstairs again with Coote to look out certain initiatory books they had had under discussion.

From Project Gutenberg