proposal

[pruh-poh-zuhl]

noun

1. the act of offering or suggesting something for acceptance, adoption, or performance.

   Synonyms: recommendation

2. a plan or scheme proposed.

   Synonyms: design, suggestion

3. an offer or suggestion of marriage.

proposal

/ prəˈpəʊzəl /

noun

1. the act of proposing

2. something proposed, as a plan

3. an offer, esp of marriage

Other Word Forms

• misproposal noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of proposal¹

First recorded in 1645–55; propose + -al ²

Synonym Study

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.

Example Sentences

But there are plenty of other elements of the lengthy, 20-point proposal that are glaring by their absence.

From BBC

US Senators have for a fourth time failed to pass spending proposals to reopen the federal government, extending the ongoing shutdown into next week.

From BBC

It was loud, and I thought maybe there was going to be a marriage proposal or something.

From Los Angeles Times

Arab and Turkish mediators are understood to be pressing Hamas for a positive response to the proposal, but a senior Hamas figure has said the armed group is likely to reject it.

From BBC

The bill follows a failed proposal filed in the state’s House of Representatives earlier this year that sought to make abortion a homicide by establishing the beginning of human life at fertilization.

From Salon

Related Words

• bid 
• idea 
• motion 
• offer 
• outline 
• overture 
• plan 
• program 
• project 
• proposition 
• recommendation 
• scheme