Adjacent Words

Initiatory definitions

	Tweet

Webster's 1828 Dictionary

INI'TIATORY, a. Initiating or serving to initiate; introducing by instruction, or by the use and application of symbols or ceremonies.
Two initiatory rites of the same general import cannot exist together.
INI'TIATORY, n. [supra.] Introductory rite.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

adj
1: serving to set in motion; "the magazine's inaugural issue"; "the initiative phase in the negotiations"; "an initiatory step toward a treaty"; "his first (or maiden) speech in Congress"; "the liner's maiden voyage" [syn: inaugural, initiative, initiatory, first, maiden]

Merriam Webster's

adjective Date: circa 1615 1. constituting a beginning <initiatory proceedings> 2. tending or serving to initiate <initiatory rites>

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Initiatory In*i"ti*a*to*ry, a. 1. Suitable for an introduction or beginning; introductory; prefatory; as, an initiatory step. --Bp. Hall. 2. Tending or serving to initiate; introducing by instruction, or by the use and application of symbols or ceremonies; elementary; rudimentary. Some initiatory treatises in the law. --Herbert. Two initiatory rites of the same general import can not exist together. --J. M. Mason.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Initiatory In*i"ti*a*to*ry, n. An introductory act or rite. [R.]

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

a. Initiative, inceptive.

Moby Thesaurus

abecedarian, aboriginal, antecedent, antenatal, anterior, autochthonous, autodidactic, baptismal, beginning, budding, chief, coeducational, creative, cultural, didactic, disciplinary, edifying, educating, educational, educative, elemental, elementary, embryonic, enlightening, exhortatory, exordial, fetal, first, foremost, formative, foundational, fundamental, gestatory, headmost, homiletic, hortatory, illuminating, in embryo, in its infancy, in the bud, inaugural, inceptive, inchoate, inchoative, incipient, incunabular, infant, infantile, informative, initial, initiative, instructive, introductive, introductory, inventive, leading, lecturing, nascent, natal, original, parturient, postnatal, preaching, precedent, preceding, preceptive, precessional, precursory, prefatory, pregnant, preliminary, preludial, prelusive, prenatal, preparatory, prevenient, primal, primary, prime, primeval, primitive, primogenial, prior, procreative, proemial, propaedeutic, rudimental, rudimentary, self-teaching, teaching, tuitionary, ur