"Initiate," "commence," and "launch" sound like formal synonyms for strike up. They aren't.
"Initiate", "commence", "launch", and "open (a discussion/meeting/negotiation)" describe a formal, procedural, structured beginning. "Strike up" describes an informal, interpersonal one. Choose based on how deliberate and structured the actual beginning was.
Different claims about how something began
These words aren't interchangeable stylistic variants — they make different claims about how something began. A negotiation, a review, or an investigation begins through a formal, structured process someone deliberately opens; a conversation or a partnership can begin through an available social opening with no scheduling involved.
Using strike up for a formal process misrepresents how deliberate and structured the beginning actually was, understating its procedural weight to a reader who needs to know it wasn't casual.
Both words can appear in the same sentence
"Legal initiated a formal review of the vendor's compliance history" — a scheduled, procedural beginning; "struck up" would misstate it as informal.
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Start learning for free →"The two account leads launched the renegotiation with a joint kickoff call" — a deliberately structured beginning that "struck up" would understate.
"She struck up a conversation with the compliance lead in the elevator, and the renegotiation was formally initiated the following week" — both words are correct in the same sentence because they describe two genuinely different beginnings.
Practice scenarios
Practice using strike up in situations like:
- describing a formal review, investigation, or negotiation being opened
- narrating a casual conversation that later led to a formal process
- choosing between strike up and initiate for the same event described two ways
Useful practice phrases:
- "Legal initiated a formal review of..."
- "We launched the renegotiation with..."
- "...struck up a conversation, and it was later formally initiated."
One family of verbs opens a process. The other opens a conversation.
A single workday can hold both, as long as you keep them apart.
Lyra Practice helps advanced non-native English professionals learn the nuance of high-value workplace expressions and practice using them in realistic scenarios, so their English sounds natural, precise, and senior at work. Try Lyra Practice.