interactive

American  

[in-ter-ak-tiv] / ˌɪn tərˈæk tɪv /

adjective

1. acting one upon or with the other.

2. of or relating to a two-way system of electronic communications, as by means of television or computer.

   interactive communications between families using two-way cable television.

3. (of a computer program or system) interacting with a human user, often in a conversational way, to obtain data or commands and to give immediate results or updated information.

   For many years airline reservations have been handled by interactive computer systems.

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noun

1. a feature, activity, or medium that requires the active participation of the user, especially in a digital or educational context.

   Each chapter ends with an interactive to test what the reader has learned.

interactive British  

/ ˌɪntərˈæktɪv /

adjective

1. allowing or relating to continuous two-way transfer of information between a user and the central point of a communication system, such as a computer or television

2. (of two or more persons, forces, etc) acting upon or in close relation with each other; interacting

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interactive Cultural  

1. If users receive real-time feedback from a computer so that they can modify the use of the machine, the hardware, software, or content, the system is said to be interactive.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• noninteractive
  adjective
• interactivity
  noun
• interactively
  adverb

Explanation

Something that is interactive is something that you can communicate or interact with. The coolest thing about the Internet is how interactive it is. You're constantly putting information and getting other information back. Think of interactive as the adjectival version of the verb "to interact." The inter- part of the word means "between, together, among," while the act- part means "to do." Put them together, and you get "to do together or among." Turn that verb into an adjective, and you get interactive. Interactive games are the most fun, because the more you and the game interact, the more interesting it is.

Example Sentences

The Coliseum will host a festival that includes live match broadcasts on big screens, music, cultural programming, interactive experiences and food.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 7, 2026

Any heavy electrical footprint is restricted to the initial training phase of the neural networks, whereas the daily interactive inference runs at highly optimized, slower processing speeds to maintain strict carbon neutrality.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 5, 2026

Sixth Wall is actively accepting requests for authorized character access across a range of use cases including interactive storytelling, conversational games and connected physical products and robotics.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 3, 2026

Swaths of the book eulogize its demise—in particular, the interactive tour displays and gallery of first lady portraits Jill had taken care to update during her husband’s administration.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 2, 2026

These interactive recording/writing/animation sessions allow us to record an artist for an entire show in less than half a day, including unlimited takes and rewrites.

From "The World Is Flat" by Thomas L. Friedman

Related Words

• bilateral
• collective
• reciprocal