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

• interactivity
  noun
• noninteractive
  adjective
• interactively
  adverb

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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

See Examples For:

interactive

For example, Ralph Lauren created an interactive fashion-advice app called Ask Ralph that absorbed every interview the fashion mogul had ever given.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 22, 2026

The animals also became less socially interactive and had difficulty recognizing objects they had encountered before, indicating problems with memory.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 18, 2026

British gaming entrepreneur Sir Ian Livingstone told the BBC's Today programme that the series, originally developed in Scotland, was "bigger than any film or song" and an "incredible achievement in interactive software".

From BBC ● Oct. 15, 2026

“We’ve re-created these environments in a very interactive and immersive way.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 30, 2026

As we made our way through all seven areas, we encountered a ton of awesome interactive displays.

From "Sir Fig Newton and the Science of Persistence" by Sonja Thomas

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Related Words

• bilateral
• collective
• reciprocal

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