diff --git a/staging/src/k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/apis/meta/v1/types.go b/staging/src/k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/apis/meta/v1/types.go
index 597e0e80ddc..54c43d9a72e 100644
--- a/staging/src/k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/apis/meta/v1/types.go
+++ b/staging/src/k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/apis/meta/v1/types.go
@@ -248,7 +248,9 @@ type Initializers struct {
 	// When the last pending initializer is removed, and no failing result is set, the initializers
 	// struct will be set to nil and the object is considered as initialized and visible to all
 	// clients.
-	Pending []Initializer `json:"pending" protobuf:"bytes,1,rep,name=pending"`
+	// +patchMergeKey=name
+	// +patchStrategy=merge
+	Pending []Initializer `json:"pending" protobuf:"bytes,1,rep,name=pending" patchStrategy:"merge" patchMergeKey:"name"`
 	// If result is set with the Failure field, the object will be persisted to storage and then deleted,
 	// ensuring that other clients can observe the deletion.
 	Result *Status `json:"result,omitempty" protobuf:"bytes,2,opt,name=result"`