Both Uses of
initiative
in
War and Peace
- He said that the Emperor Alexander did not consider Kurakin's demand for his passports a sufficient cause for war; that Kurakin had acted on his own initiative and without his sovereign's assent, that the Emperor Alexander did not desire war, and had no relations with England.†
Chpt 9 *
- They did not fear getting into trouble for not fulfilling orders or for acting on their own initiative, for in battle what is at stake is what is dearest to man—his own life—and it sometimes seems that safety lies in running back, sometimes in running forward; and these men who were right in the heat of the battle acted according to the mood of the moment.†
Chpt 10
Definition:
-
(initiative) the ability and tendency to determine what should be done and to start doing it without instruction
or:
to start somethingThe exact meaning of starting something depends upon the context. For example:- "She did it on her own initiative." -- started it without anyone telling her to
- "She seized the initiative." -- started actions that force others to react to her rather than her having to react to them
- "the peace initiative" -- a plan or the start of actions to bring about something
- "a ballot initiative" -- a proposed law that is started by citizen petition rather than by the legislature (applicable in many jurisdictions such as California)