# initiative

Pronunciation: say "i-NISH-uh-tiv" /ɪˈnɪʃətɪv/

## Noun

1. The ability to act first or on one's own, before or without being prompted by others.
   - Simple: The power to act and make decisions on your own, without being told to.
   - _The young officer was praised for taking the initiative during the rescue._
   - _Employees who show initiative tend to advance faster than those who wait for instructions._
2. A new development or fresh approach: a new way of dealing with a problem.
   - Simple: A new plan or fresh way of dealing with a problem.
   - _The government announced an ambitious initiative aimed at reducing childhood poverty._
   - _Several community initiatives sprang up to support struggling local farmers._
3. A beginning or first move in some course of action.
   - Simple: The first step or move that starts something.
   - _The ceasefire came about through the initiative of neutral mediators._
   - _He seized the initiative early in the negotiations and set the agenda._
4. A proposed law or issue placed on the ballot for a public vote after gathering enough signatures from voters.
   - Simple: A question that people can put on the ballot to vote on, after enough voters sign for it.
   - _The 2020 initiative legalized recreational cannabis across the state._
   - _Backers gathered half a million signatures to qualify their tax initiative for November._

## Adjective

5. Of a state or jurisdiction: allowing voters to bring proposed laws to the ballot directly. *(US)*
   - Simple: Describing a state where voters can put proposed laws on the ballot themselves.
   - _Oregon's initiative system lets residents propose legislation through signature drives._
   - _Many western initiative states adopted the process during the Progressive Era._

## Adjective

6. Serving to begin or set something in motion. *(archaic)*
   - Simple: Used to begin or set something in motion.

## Origin

From French initiative, from Medieval Latin *initiativus ('serving to initiate'), which traces back through Late Latin initiare ('to begin') to Latin initium ('beginning') and the verb ineo ('enter, begin').

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/initiative (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).