Do you know the meaning of proactive? This article will provide you with all the information on rapport from its definition to its usage and more!
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Kevin
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January 22, 2022
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Common Questions
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What Does Proactive Mean?
Adjective: pro·ac·tive | (prəʊˈæktɪv) \ noun: pro·ac·tiv·i·ty
The adjective proactive can describe an individual that gets things done. If you are a person that doesn’t wait for things to happen, instead, you go and make them happen, you are indeed a proactive individual.
Where active means “engaging in action,” the prefix pro– means “earlier than/ before.” So if you are ready to do something before something happens, you would be proactive. The opposite of this would be to wait for things to unfold before responding; this would be defined as reactive.
When thinking about the winter season in general or the “flu season” specifically, a reactive person would begin to take medicine and drink plenty of fluids after receiving confirmation that they have the flu.
A proactive person, on the other hand, would have been taking daily vitamins, washing their hands, and maintaining an active lifestyle daily in an attempt to remain healthy.
Alternatively, when in reference to psychology, proactive can take on a slightly different definition. This is the interference caused by or relating to previously learned traits, habits, or behaviors. An example of this in a sentence would be as follows:
“If you are having difficulty remembering the new area code (constantly dialing in the previous number by mistake), this is caused by proactive interference.”
Origin of Proactive
Someone who is reactive can be defined as an individual who tends to react to a problem, oftentimes only when that problem gets serious. Previously, there were no antonyms of reactive (when defined in this sense).
In turn, the adjective proactive was coined to describe an individual that, instead of reacting, would look into the future in an effort to be prepared for the problem at hand. In other words, someone who is proactive controls a situation by making things happen or by preparing for possible future problems or expected change.
Some examples of this would be, but are not limited to:
- When an exceptional parent attempts to be proactive on behalf of their children, they might attempt to imagine problems his or her children may have to face in the future.
- A company may have a team of financial officers, and one of their main goals may be to study the patterns of their companies earnings. This would be a proactive way of ensuring the company doesn’t run short of any funds at any point in the next year and potentially further.
Proactive may seem like a fashionable buzzword, but this is because the word itself has only been around for a few short decades. Coined in 1933, the term proactive was originally used in a psychology paper written by Paul Whiteley and Gerald Blankfort. In 1946, the word was seen again in neuropsychiatrist Viktor Emil Frankl’s book Man’s Search for Meaning.
Example sentences and Uses of Proactive
The word proactive can be used in various different contexts in the English language. Below are a few examples of the various contexts you can incorporate the term proactive into your everyday sentences. Try using proactive in a sentence today:
- I sincerely apologize if you believe we have not been proactive in this matter.
- His proactive behavior is the only reason why our team was able to turn in our psychology paper early.
- To prevent future problems, being proactive is key.
- Proactive measures are needed in the fight against crime.
- Tina decided it was best to be proactive, so she typed the address into the email before she had time to stop herself.
- Honestly, I was proactive, and I know the higher up’s love it when we are proactive.
- A proactive solution for staying informed is enabling alerts on your mobile device.
- Learn how marketing can impact your business, be proactive today!
- We can form a synergistic restructuring of the teams if we just continue to be proactive.
- Don’t worry about every problem that pops up; we can deal with them — we just have to maintain our proactive stance.
- If you ask me, perseverance and courage are just as important attributes as being proactive.
- In regard to losing weight by the end of December, you need to be proactive and get to the gym.
- To bring in more business, you should be proactive and start putting advertisements on Twitter and Facebook.
- Instead of reacting, try taking control of a situation by being proactive.
- Learning how to be proactive is a pretty great achievement.
What Are Synonyms of Proactive?
A word with the same meaning as proactive is referred to as a synonym — synonyms are an excellent way to improve your vocabulary.
Another great benefit to learning these alternate definitions or synonyms of proactive is that while conversing verbally with your peers or speaking long-distance via text message, you’ll have ways to avoid repeating yourself when referring to the word proactive. Below, you will find a short list of synonyms for proactive provided by Power Thesaurus.
- Take-Charge
- Enterprising
- Enthusiastic
- Spirited
- Vigorous
- Proactively
- Energetic
- Can-Do
- Extremely Enthusiastic
- Taking the Initiative
- Active
- Ahead-of-the-Curve
What Are Antonyms of Proactive?
There are also various ways of referring to the opposite of proactive; these are defined as antonyms. Like synonyms, antonyms are another splendid tool in expanding your vocabulary. Here is a list of antonyms for the word proactive:
- Passive
- Nonfunctional
- Languid
- Sleeping
- Idle
- Quiet
- Listless
- Stationary
- Lackadaisical
- Standing
- Non-Reactive
- Supine
- Sluggish
- Weak
- Reactionless
- Torpid
- Anergic
- Cold
In Conclusion
If you’re looking to take control of your situation, and you want to be the one that makes things happen by preparing for your future, you are already being proactive.
Defined as tending to initiate change rather than reacting to events or the Psychol of or denoting a mental process that affects a subsequent process, a proactive person is someone who takes action now — not later.
Whether it be in reference to psychology (and the interference between previous and current teachings) or just the act of anticipating future needs or changes, try using proactive in a sentence today!
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