initial

Initial is part of the Academic Word List. It is important for students in college and university.

Pronunciation

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Adjective

Positive initial

Comparative none

Superlative none

1. (usually before the noun) The initial period, stages, etc. come near the beginning.

   They send most workers to the US after an initial training period of three months.

   With these cars, the initial cost is high, but you save money in the long run.

   My initial reaction when I saw the bear was to run and hide.

Synonyms

• first

Antonyms

• last
• terminal

Related words

• initially
• initialize / initialise

Noun

Singular initial

Plural initials

1. (countable) An initial is the first letter of a name.

   He found a bag with the initials D.B.R.

See also

• abbreviation
• acronym

Verb

Plain form initial

Third-person singular initials

Past tense initialed

Past participle initialed

Present participle initialing

Plain form initial

Third-person singular initials

Past tense initialled

Past participle initialled

Present participle initialling

1. If you initial something, you write the first letter of each of your names on it (or sometimes just your first and last name).

   Can you initial this form here, please?