61 synonyms for initiative such as approach, ambition, advantage, act, and action. Initiative is a noun, and its antonyms are inertia and laziness.
Ambition, ambitiousness, capability, creativity, dash, drive, dynamism, energy, enterprise, get-up-and-go, imagination, imaginativeness, ingenuity, inventiveness, leadership, motivation, originality, pep, pizzazz, punch, push, resourcefulness, spirit, verve, vigour, vision, vitality, zing, and zip.
Advantage, beginning, commencement, edge, first blow, first move, first step, gambit, lead, opening gambit, opening move, start, trump card, upper hand, and whip hand.
Act, action, approach, démarche, gambit, manoeuvre, measure, plan, proposal, scheme, step, stratagem, strategy, tack, tactic, and technique.