preemptive
Americanadjective
-
of or relating to preemption.
-
taken as a measure against something possible, anticipated, or feared; preventive; deterrent.
a preemptive tactic against a ruthless business rival.
-
preempting or possessing the power to preempt; appropriative; privileged.
a commander's preemptive authority.
-
Bridge. pertaining to, involving, or noting an opening bid or an overcall in a suit that is at an unnecessarily high level and that is essentially a defensive maneuver designed to make communication between one's opponents more difficult.
a preemptive bid; to give a preemptive response.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of preemptive
Explanation
A preemptive action is made to keep some other action from being taken. Before you could be accused of eating the whole cake, you decided to make a preemptive apology, which was met with awkward silence. Tired of being disturbed by your roommate's loud music, your preemptive strike was to crank up your favorite opera as soon as you arrived home. Unfortunately, he'd already made a preemptive strike of his own by borrowing your stereo. Don't confuse preemptive with peremptory, a word meaning “arrogant.” You don't have to be arrogant to make a preemptive move, just cautious.
Vocabulary lists containing preemptive
Darius the Great Is Not Okay
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
The Fault in Our Stars
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
The Field Guide to the North American Teenager
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Instead, Speech First brought only preemptive claims speculating that their members’ views might someday in the future be chilled.
From Slate ● Jun. 2, 2026
Recall that Gabbard had always agitated against waging preemptive war.
From Salon ● Mar. 22, 2026
However, they think that the regulator’s preemptive tightening of rules reduces risk of more significant restrictions later on, and still see housing credit growth accelerating to 8% on-year by the middle of 2026.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 28, 2025
The neighbouring provinces of Sorsogon and Albay also called for preemptive evacuations, but official figures were not immediately available.
From Barron's ● Oct. 18, 2025
The idea is to make preemptive strikes against possible flashpoints.
From "Middlesex: A Novel" by Jeffrey Eugenides
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
