progressive

[ pruh-gres-iv ]

/ prəˈgrɛs ɪv /

Save This Word!

See synonyms for: progressive / progressives on Thesaurus.com

adjective

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

making progress toward better conditions; employing or advocating more enlightened or liberal ideas, new or experimental methods, etc.: a progressive community.

characterized by such progress, or by continuous improvement.

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

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

noting or pertaining to a form of taxation in which the rate increases with certain increases in taxable income.

of or relating to progressive education: progressive schools.

Grammar. noting a verb aspect or other verb category that indicates action or state going on at a temporal point of reference.

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

noun

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

Progressive, a member of a Progressive party.

Grammar.

the progressive aspect.
a verb form or construction in the progressive, as are thinking in They are thinking about it.

OTHER WORDS FOR progressive

1 liberal.

5 consecutive, successive; straight, continuous.

See synonyms for progressive on Thesaurus.com

QUIZ

CAN YOU ANSWER THESE COMMON GRAMMAR DEBATES?

There are grammar debates that never die; and the ones highlighted in the questions in this quiz are sure to rile everyone up once again. Do you know how to answer the questions that cause some of the greatest grammar debates?

Question 1 of 7

Which sentence is correct?

His boss, whom he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

His boss, who he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of progressive

First recorded in 1600–10; progress + -ive

OTHER WORDS FROM progressive

pro·gres·sive·ly, adverbpro·gres·sive·ness, pro·gres·siv·i·ty

[proh-gre-siv-i-tee], /ˌproʊ grɛˈsɪv ɪ ti/, nounan·ti·pro·gres·sive, adjectivenon·pro·gres·sive, adjective, noun

non·pro·gres·sive·ness, nounqua·si-pro·gres·sive, adjectivesem·i·pro·gres·sive, adjective, nounsem·i·pro·gres·sive·ness, nounul·tra·pro·gres·sive, adjective, nounul·tra·pro·gres·sive·ness, nounun·pro·gres·sive, adjectiveun·pro·gres·sive·ness, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use progressive in a sentence

She said she is running for her third term in order to continue pushing for progressive change in her state.
Danica Roem seeks third term in Va. House|Parker Purifoy|November 12, 2020|Washington Blade
The state keeps electing Democrats, she writes, but that doesn’t mean actual policies are getting more progressive.
Morning Report: What Women Candidates and Officeholders Face|Voice of San Diego|November 9, 2020|Voice of San Diego
A progressive and advocate for laborers’ rights, Bernstein is currently serving as a senior fellow at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.
Meet the three people who will define economic policy for the next four years|Nicole Goodkind|November 7, 2020|Fortune
There will be pressure to move quickly on a more progressive agenda, but moving any new dollars outside the traditional budget process — in June — will require the support of at least one Republican.
Morning Report: Dems Take County Control|Voice of San Diego|November 4, 2020|Voice of San Diego

For his research, he contracted with Catalist, a vendor that buys voter registration data from states, cleans it, and sells it to the Democratic Party and progressive groups.
How claims of voter fraud were supercharged by bad science|Bobbie Johnson|November 1, 2020|MIT Technology Review
Years later, he got a high-profile job at Mozilla, a tech company in a professional community noted for its progressiveness.
In Gay Rights Fights, Bullies Love to Play the Victim|Tim Teeman|April 4, 2014|DAILY BEAST
In this mood, Democrats may care a lot more about toughness and combativeness than about minute gradations of progressiveness.
How Obama is Setting the Stage for Hillary in 2016|David Frum|September 15, 2013|DAILY BEAST
It tries for progressiveness and ends up being ... achingly middle of the road.
Fall-Winter TV Preview: Snap Judgments of 2013–14’s New Shows|Jace Lacob, Kevin Fallon|July 16, 2013|DAILY BEAST
The words Progress and Progressiveness are not here to be understood as synonymous with improvement and tendency to improvement.
A System of Logic: Ratiocinative and Inductive|John Stuart Mill
The account proceeds with a thoughtful deliberation and river-like momentum of progressiveness.
William Bradford of Plymouth|Albert Hale Plumb
Mr. Ferrel has always been actuated by a spirit of enterprise and progressiveness in anything that he has undertaken.
Lyman's History of old Walla Walla County, Vol. 2 (of 2)|William Denison Lyman
Outside of milling circles Mr. Isaacs was perhaps best known by reason of his public spirit and his progressiveness.
Lyman's History of old Walla Walla County, Vol. 2 (of 2)|William Denison Lyman
Our country has been unprecedentedly developed in consequence of the energy and progressiveness of its railway managers.
Railroads: Rates and Regulations|William Z. Ripley

British Dictionary definitions for progressive (1 of 2)

progressive

/ (prəˈɡrɛsɪv) /

adjective

of or relating to progress

proceeding or progressing by steps or degrees

(often capital) favouring or promoting political or social reform through government action, or even revolution, to improve the lot of the majoritya progressive policy

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

(of a tax or tax system) graduated so that the rate increases relative to the amount taxedCompare regressive (def. 2)

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

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

denoting an aspect of verbs in some languages, including English, used to express prolonged or continuous activity as opposed to momentary or habitual activitya progressive aspect of the verb ``to walk'' is ``is walking.''

noun

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

the progressive aspect of a verb
a verb in this aspect

Derived forms of progressive

progressively, adverbprogressiveness, nounprogressivism, nounprogressivist, noun

British Dictionary definitions for progressive (2 of 2)

Progressive

/ (prəˈɡrɛsɪv) /

noun

US history a member or supporter of a Progressive Party

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

adjective

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

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

progressive

OTHER WORDS FOR progressive

Origin of progressive

OTHER WORDS FROM progressive

Words related to progressive

How to use progressive in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for progressive (1 of 2)

Derived forms of progressive

British Dictionary definitions for progressive (2 of 2)