What does initial mean?
Word: Initial
Part of Speech: Adjective
Meaning: Initial means happening at the very start of something, before any changes. As a noun, an initial is the first letter of a name, such as S for Sunita.
Synonyms: opening, early
How do you spell initial?
Syllables: in - i - tial
Tricky part: The sh sound near the end is spelt ti, so the last part is -tial, not -shal or -cial.
Watch out for: inishal, inicial
Memory tip: Unlike special, which uses ci, initial spells its sh sound with ti: think of the t standing tall in the middle of the word.
Initial in a sentence
Example 1: My initial plan was to walk to school, but the rain changed my mind.
Example 2: Kate stitched her initials, K.R., onto her new school bag.
Example 3: The initial cost of the bicycle was high, but it saved us bus fares later.
Fun Fact
In many old handwritten books, the initial letter of each chapter was painted very large and decorated with gold and bright colours.
Practise the CREST Way
Spellacadabra
Choose the option in which the following letters will fit in the given order:
i, i
a) __n__tial
b) p__rt__al
c) __ss__ntial
d) m__d__cal
Show answer
a) __n__tial. Two i's make initial; essential begins with e, medical has an e after the m, and partial an a after the p.
Word Puzzle
Match each word with its opposite:
1. initial 2. ancient 3. generous a. modern b. selfish c. final
a) 1-b, 2-a, 3-c
b) 1-c, 2-b, 3-a
c) 1-c, 2-a, 3-b
d) 1-a, 2-c, 3-b
Show answer
c) 1-c, 2-a, 3-b. Initial is the opposite of final, ancient of modern, and generous of selfish.
Spell Probe
Find the misspelt word in the sentence and choose its meaning:
Our initial idea for the class play was a story about a clever monkey, but the teacher sugested a fairy tale instead.
a) a story written to be acted on a stage
b) a story for children about magic and imaginary creatures
c) put forward an idea for other people to think about
d) a person whose job is to help pupils learn
Show answer
c) put forward an idea for other people to think about. Suggested needs a double g; it means put an idea forward.
Word Tally
How many words in the list are misspelt?
initial, alphabet, signiture, punctuation, abreviation
a) 1
b) 4
c) 2
d) 3
Show answer
c) 2. Signature has an a after the n, and abbreviation needs a double b; the other three are right.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Leena's initials are L.M.P. Which of these could be her full name?
a) Manju Leena Patil
b) Leena Patil Mehta
c) Priya Leena Mehta
d) Leena Manju Patil
Show answer
d) Leena Manju Patil
2. Kofi's initial reaction to the new puzzle was confusion, but soon he was enjoying it. When was he confused?
a) after he had solved it
b) when he first saw the puzzle
c) for the whole afternoon
d) the next morning
Show answer
b) when he first saw the puzzle
