BEGIN, COMMENCE, START, INITIATE, INAUGURATE, USHER IN mean to take the first step in a course, process, or operation. BEGIN, START, and COMMENCE are often interchangeable. BEGIN, opposed to end, is the most general. begin a trip began dancing START, opposed to stop, applies especially to first actions, steps, or stages. the work started slowly COMMENCE can be more formal or bookish than BEGIN or START. commence firing commenced a conversation INITIATEimplies taking a first step in a process or series that is to continue. initiateddiplomatic contacts INAUGURATE suggests a beginning of some formality or notion of significance. the discovery of penicillin inaugurated a new era in medicine USHER IN is somewhat less weighty than INAUGURATE. ushered in a period of economic decline

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