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Added 9 October 2026

proactive

/pɹəʊˈæk.tɪv/ adjective

In Latin: none, coined in 1933 Coined: 1933, by Gerald Blankfort Wiktionary

adjective Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about proactive at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

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.

Origin

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.

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

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