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• progressive
  progressive

  adjective

  favoring or advocating progress, change, improvement, or reform, as opposed to wishing to maintain things as they are, especially in political matters.
• Progressive
  Progressive

  noun

  history a member or supporter of a Progressive Party

progressive

American  

[pruh-gres-iv] / prəˈgrɛs ɪv /

adjective

1. favoring or advocating progress, change, improvement, or reform, as opposed to wishing to maintain things as they are, especially in political matters.

   The city recently elected a progressive mayor.

   Synonyms:

   liberal

2. making progress toward better conditions; employing or advocating more enlightened or liberal ideas, new or experimental methods, etc..

   We are a progressive community supporting and connecting innovative artists from many different cultures.

3. Progressive, of or relating to any of the Progressive parties in politics.

4. going forward or onward; passing successively from one member of a series to the next; proceeding step by step.

   We are seeing a progressive increase in average temperatures worldwide.

   Synonyms:

   continuous, straight, successive, consecutive

5. relating to or being a form of taxation in which the rate increases with certain increases in taxable income.

6. of or relating to progressive education.

   He worries that progressive schools achieve less solid mastery than conventional schools.

7. Grammar. designating a verb aspect or other verb category used for an action or state in process at a particular point of reference in time, whether past, present, or future.

8. Medicine/Medical. continuously increasing in extent or severity, as a disease.

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noun

• progressives
  plural

1. a person who is progressive or who favors progress or reform, especially in political matters.

2. Progressive, a member of a Progressive party.

3. Grammar.

   1. a verb aspect or other verb category used for an action or state in process at a particular point of reference in time, whether past, present, or future.

   2. an instance or form of a verb in this aspect, such as They are thinking about it, I was reading when you called, or Tomorrow I will be traveling to Boston.

progressive ¹ British  

/ prəˈɡrɛsɪv /

adjective

1. of or relating to progress

2. proceeding or progressing by steps or degrees

3. (often capital) favouring or promoting political or social reform through government action, or even revolution, to improve the lot of the majority

   a progressive policy

4. denoting or relating to an educational system that allows flexibility in learning procedures, based on activities determined by the needs and capacities of the individual child, the aim of which is to integrate academic with social development

5. (of a tax or tax system) graduated so that the rate increases relative to the amount taxed Compare regressive

6. (esp of a disease) advancing in severity, complexity, or extent

7. (of a dance, card game, etc) involving a regular change of partners after one figure, one game, etc

8. denoting an aspect of verbs in some languages, including English, used to express prolonged or continuous activity as opposed to momentary or habitual activity

   a progressive aspect of the verb ``to walk'' is ``is walking.''

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noun

1. a person who advocates progress, as in education, politics, etc

2. 1. the progressive aspect of a verb

   2. a verb in this aspect

Progressive ² British  

/ prəˈɡrɛsɪv /

noun

1. history a member or supporter of a Progressive Party

2. Canadian history a member or supporter of a chiefly agrarian reform movement advocating the nationalization of railways, low tariffs, an end to party politics, and similar measures: important in the early 1920s

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adjective

1. of, relating to, or characteristic of a Progressive Party, Progressive movement, or Progressives

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• nonprogressiveness
  noun
• progressiveness
  noun
• progressivism
  noun
• progressivist
  noun
• progressivity
  noun
• semiprogressiveness
  noun
• ultraprogressiveness
  noun
• unprogressiveness
  noun
• antiprogressive
  adjective
• nonprogressive
  adjective
• quasi-progressive
  adjective
• semiprogressive
  adjective
• ultraprogressive
  adjective
• unprogressive
  adjective
• progressively
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• progressives
  plural

Etymology

Origin of progressive

First recorded in 1600–10; progress + -ive

Explanation

People who are progressive favor reform and believe that government should play a big role in improving society. This word is the opposite of conservative, which means "favoring tradition; resistant to change." Although it's often used in political contexts as a synonym of liberal, progressive can also be used in a more general sense. You're a progressive thinker if you like to come up with new ways of doing things and you’re open to change. A progressive tax increases the tax rate in increments: higher earners pay a higher percentage of their income in taxes. In the field of grammar, progressive refers to a type of verb tense that describes ongoing action. This word applies to lots of things that slowly increase, change, or progress.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

progressive Progressive progressives

Roath has mounted a “future-oriented” campaign with support from prominent progressive activists.

From Slate ● Sep. 1, 2026

We might well see a new wave of progressive politicians taking power across the region in less than four years.

From Salon ● Sep. 1, 2026

The outspoken progressive is seeking to temper some of the heat he delivered in the primary as he pivots to a general election and tries to court his skeptics.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 28, 2026

He campaigned during that time with Abdul El-Sayed, a progressive candidate now running for a US Senate seat after winning the Democratic nomination.

From Barron's ● Aug. 28, 2026

In the fall of 1952, when Bobby was nine, Regina secured scholarship enrollment for him in Brooklyn Community Woodward, a progressive grade school of approximately 150 children.

From "Endgame" by Frank Brady

Progressive state Sen. Aisha Wahab will replace former Rep. Eric Swalwell in Congress and finish his current term.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 21, 2026

Mr. Ritz is vice president of policy development for the Progressive Policy Institute.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 12, 2026

Farther south in Tulare County, the pumping fees are too high for small farmers, said Tekoah Kadara, associate executive director of the Allensworth Progressive Assn.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 31, 2026

At the end of last year, Progressive, which mostly sells auto insurance, announced an $8 billion variable dividend, or $13.50 a share, its largest-ever and three times the amount of its 2024 dividend.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 20, 2026

I had no idea what the Progressive Era was, and back in the office, I got out the World Book Encyclopedia.

From "The Glass Castle" by Jeannette Walls

Win or lose, progressives and centrists will debate the meaning of this race for some time to come.

From Salon ● Aug. 10, 2026

Eventually, Stevens consolidated establishment and centrist support, while El-Sayed consolidated progressives.

From Slate ● Aug. 5, 2026

But as excitement over his campaign began to mount among progressives on a national level, Ryan said, El-Sayed’s public posture swung to a middle ground.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 5, 2026

So while it may seem like progressives and conservatives in the U.S. agree on little or nothing, they seem to be finding some common ground on solutions to the housing crisis.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 1, 2026

Middle-class progressives, disgusted by the corrupt politics of both Thompson and Sweitzer, threw their weight behind an independent reformer.

From "A Few Red Drops: The Chicago Race Riot of 1919" by Claire Hartfield

Related Words

• forward-looking
• forward-thinking
• left
• left of center
• leftist
• liberal
• reformist