proposal
Americannoun
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the act of offering or suggesting something for acceptance, adoption, or performance.
- Synonyms:
- recommendation
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a plan or scheme proposed.
- Synonyms:
- design, suggestion
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an offer or suggestion of marriage.
noun
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the act of proposing
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something proposed, as a plan
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an offer, esp of marriage
Related Words
Proposal, overture, proposition refer to something in the nature of an offer. A proposal is a plan, a scheme, an offer to be accepted or rejected: to make proposals for peace. An overture is a friendly approach, an opening move (perhaps involving a proposal) tentatively looking toward the settlement of a controversy or else preparing the way for a proposal or the like: to make overtures to an enemy. Proposition, used in mathematics to refer to a formal statement of truth, and often including the proof or demonstration of the statement, has something of this same meaning when used nontechnically (particularly in business). A proposition is a proposal in which the terms are clearly stated and their advantageous nature emphasized: His proposition involved a large discount to the retailer.
Other Word Forms
- misproposal noun
Etymology
Origin of proposal
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.
The Kremlin's statement made no mention of Kyiv's initial proposal.
From Barron's • Apr. 9, 2026
My best guess is that Cassidy and Kaine themselves — being the intelligent and diligent legislators they are — would prefer a serious approach and offer this proposal simply to move their colleagues to action.
From MarketWatch • Apr. 9, 2026
Hobbs asked for an additional $48.4 million in her 2027 budget proposal to help the department administer SNAP.
From Salon • Apr. 9, 2026
Officials from Gulf Arab countries have objected that Iran’s proposal violates international treaties, such as the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, that guarantee freedom of navigation.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 8, 2026
Though this was really an emergency proposal dictated by the military crisis, and was ultimately rejected by the planter class in South Carolina and Georgia, its very suggestion seemed prophetic.
From "Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation" by Joseph J. Ellis
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.
