as in founder
a person who establishes a whole new field of endeavor
as the initiator of printing from movable type, Gutenberg revolutionized people's access to written language
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Recent Examples of initiator
His top recommendation for the latter was Pitzock, the restaurant run by his uncle Oskar Messner, one of the initiators of the Slow Food movement in the valley and among the most knowledgeable sources in the region on local ingredients and tradition.
—
Jenn Rice, Travel + Leisure, 7 May 2026
Los Angeles also employed Luke Kennard as a ballhandler and initiator, and guard Marcus Smart is back after missing nearly three weeks with a right ankle injury.
—ABC News, 14 Apr. 2026
As the system doesn’t require kick-starting with chemical initiators, it could eventually be integrated into large-scale industrial recycling plants.
—Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 9 Apr. 2026
Ausar Thompson is the Pistons’ second-most effective offensive initiator after Cunningham.
—Jared Weiss, New York Times, 11 Mar. 2026
Peterson is breathtakingly talented as a scorer and on-ball initiator, but health concerns have marred an otherwise impressive freshman season.
—Julia Poe, Chicago Tribune, 10 Mar. 2026
History suggests that wars aimed at reshaping political systems hardly ever unfold as their initiators intend.
—Thomas Wright, The Atlantic, 6 Mar. 2026
And when Aaron's healthier, that's an initiator of our offense as well.
—Bennett Durando, Denver Post, 11 Feb. 2026
PiqlFilm is also the initiator of the Arctic World Archive (AWA), a repository for world memory located in Northern Norway on the Arctic Ocean.
—Thomas Coughlin, Forbes.com, 21 Jan. 2026
Jenn Rice, Travel + Leisure, 7 May 2026
Los Angeles also employed Luke Kennard as a ballhandler and initiator, and guard Marcus Smart is back after missing nearly three weeks with a right ankle injury.
—ABC News, 14 Apr. 2026
As the system doesn’t require kick-starting with chemical initiators, it could eventually be integrated into large-scale industrial recycling plants.
—Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 9 Apr. 2026
Ausar Thompson is the Pistons’ second-most effective offensive initiator after Cunningham.
—Jared Weiss, New York Times, 11 Mar. 2026
Peterson is breathtakingly talented as a scorer and on-ball initiator, but health concerns have marred an otherwise impressive freshman season.
—Julia Poe, Chicago Tribune, 10 Mar. 2026
History suggests that wars aimed at reshaping political systems hardly ever unfold as their initiators intend.
—Thomas Wright, The Atlantic, 6 Mar. 2026
And when Aaron's healthier, that's an initiator of our offense as well.
—Bennett Durando, Denver Post, 11 Feb. 2026
PiqlFilm is also the initiator of the Arctic World Archive (AWA), a repository for world memory located in Northern Norway on the Arctic Ocean.
—Thomas Coughlin, Forbes.com, 21 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for initiator
Noun
-
Dudley notably received a $1 million contribution from Phil Knight, the billionaire co-founder of Nike, which is based in Oregon.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
19 May 2026
-
In addition to designers and entrepreneurs, many artists were around of the like of Malcolm McLaren, the founder of the Sex Pistols.—
Maria Cristina Pavarini,
Footwear News,
19 May 2026
Noun
-
That lesson has been absorbed — instinctively, if not always consciously — by a generation of online creators now moving into feature filmmaking with their audiences already in tow.—
Scott Roxborough,
HollywoodReporter,
17 May 2026
-
Jury members are to be announced; the roster will draw from filmmakers, actors, and creators working across Japan and internationally.—
Naman Ramachandran,
Variety,
17 May 2026
Noun
-
Despite the proximity, the space rock poses no danger, according to Richard Binzel, a professor of planetary sciences at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the inventor of the Torino Scale, a tool for categorizing potential collisions of space objects with Earth.—
Jacopo Prisco,
CNN Money,
18 May 2026
-
Doc, the inventor of the shortstop position.—
Ben McGrath,
New Yorker,
18 May 2026
Noun
-
Saunders’ analysis of his quartet of authors and their stories also puts me in mind of an observation by the late playwright Tom Stoppard.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
20 May 2026
-
The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.—
Eric Welch,
The Conversation,
19 May 2026
Noun
-
Wilson’s father was a Presbyterian minister, and Wilson read the Bible daily.—
Ruth Marcus,
New Yorker,
21 May 2026
-
The backstory The property was built in 1835 as a private home for Sarah Lydia Robbins Howe, whose father Edward Hutchinson Robbins served as Massachusetts’ sixth lieutenant governor.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
20 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Initiator.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/initiator. Accessed 23 May. 2026.
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