proactive

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proactive

/pɹəʊˈæk.tɪv/ UK
/pɹoʊˈæk.tɪv/ US

Rhymes with -æktɪv

Where it comes from

From pro- + active; originally coined 1933 by Paul Whiteley and Gerald Blankfort in a psychology paper, used in technical sense. Used in a popular context and sense (courage, perseverance) in 1946 book Man’s Search for Meaning by neuropsychiatrist Viktor Emil Frankl, in the context of dealing with the Holocaust, as contrast with reactive.

adjective more proactive · most proactive

Acting in advance to deal with an expected change or difficulty. We can deal with each problem as it pops up, or we can take a proactive stance and try to prevent future problems.
Similar: anticipatory, forward-looking

Opposite: reactive

Thesaurus

Closest in meaning: anticipatory, proactively, forward-looking, preemptive, pre-emptive, deliberate, pretrial, purposeful, prospective, active, prudential, affirmative, initiative, precautionary, effective, revealing

adjective

Opposite: reactive

Translations

Every language

adj acting in advance

Español	proactivo, precavida, preventiva
한국어	주도적 judojeok
日本語	先取りした
中文	積極 /积极 jījí, 主動 /主动 zhǔdòng
Português	proativo
Français	proactif
Deutsch	proaktiv
Italiano	proattivo
Ελληνικά	προενεργός proenergós
Română	proactiv
Русский	проактивный proaktivnyj, упреждающий upreždajuščij
العربية	وِقَائِيّ wiqāʔiyy, استباق الْأَحْدَاث

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MLA

"proactive." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/proactive. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

proactive. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/proactive

Chicago

"proactive." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/proactive.

BibTeX

@misc{proactive_2026,
  title = {proactive},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/proactive},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}