proactive
Americanadjective
adjective
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tending to initiate change rather than reacting to events
-
psychol of or denoting a mental process that affects a subsequent process
Usage
What does proactive mean? Proactive is the opposite of reactive. Actions that are proactive are initiated not in reaction to a situation but instead out of a desire to make a positive change, prepare for a situation, or prevent something from happening.Proactive is commonly used to describe people who take such actions. It’s also commonly used in the phrase proactive measures, meaning proactive actions, especially those done to prevent a negative situation.Example: Henry credits most of his success to being proactive instead of waiting for opportunities to come to him.
Other Word Forms
- proactive noun
- proactively adverb
- proactiveness noun
- proactivity noun
Etymology
Origin of proactive
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Morgan analyst Tien-tsin Huang wrote in a note that a new “world of work” is “impending,” and that Block is “proactively restructuring” the company to adapt to that reality.
From MarketWatch
It is the first time parent company Meta will proactively alert parents to searches by their child on Instagram for harmful material, rather than block searches and direct users to external help.
From BBC
As part of that, remember to include information about intangibles: how the employee is regarded by peers, what attitude he or she brings to the job, how proactive he or she is about handling tasks.
The price-comparison website is proactively neutralizing AI-disruption risks through the strategic launch of its ChatGPT app, showing not only technical ability but also a strategic hedge, the analysts say in a note.
“The specific steps that importers must take are currently unclear, but importers will need to take proactive steps and navigate what is expected to be a complex and potentially contentious reimbursement process.”
From Barron's
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
