proactive
adjective
Alexandra SifferlinMichael Tannenbaum et al.Jeffrey Nevid
Did you know?
People who tend to react to a problem only when it's gotten serious could be called reactive people. Until recently, reactive (in this sense) didn't really have an antonym. So proactive was coined to describe the kind of person who's always looking into the future in order to be prepared for anything. A good parent attempts to be proactive on behalf of his or her children, trying to imagine the problems they might be facing in a few months or years. A company's financial officers study the patterns of the company's earnings to make sure it won't risk running short of cash at any point in the next year or two. Proactive has only been around a few decades, and it can still sometimes sound like a fashionable buzzword.
Examples of proactive in a Sentence
Mita Malhotra, Forbes.com, 25 Apr. 2025
Dustin Brewer, senior director of proactive cybersecurity services at BlueVoyant, says the best advice for recipients of unwanted texts is to ignore the messages.
—Kevin Williams, CNBC, 25 Apr. 2025
The most resilient brands are taking proactive steps to navigate supply chain challenges.
—Sj Studio, Sourcing Journal, 25 Apr. 2025
Mounting natural disasters and public pressure has made some states proactive on the issue.
—Alex Harris, Miami Herald, 24 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for proactive
Cite this Entry
“Proactive.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/proactive. Accessed 29 Apr. 2025.
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proactive
adjective
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