proximate
Americanadjective
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next; nearest; immediately before or after in order, place, occurrence, etc.
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close; very near.
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approximate; fairly accurate.
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forthcoming; imminent.
adjective
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next or nearest in space or time
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very near; close
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immediately preceding or following in a series
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a less common word for approximate
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of proximate
1590–1600; < Late Latin proximātus, past participle of proximāre to near, approach. See proximal, -ate 1
Explanation
Proximate things are either nearby or close in time. The proximate arrival of a new grandchild means your grandma had better finish knitting those booties. A Rube Goldberg machine is like a giant chain of proximate causes – one action causes another. Use the adjective proximate for things that are close to each other or somehow related. Like the noun proximity, or nearby area, it comes from the Latin root, proximus, "nearest." In legal terms, you may have a case if the proximate cause of a fall was someone’s negligence. You can use proximate to mean "imminent" (or close by, but in terms of time), as in "The proximate publication of her story made her both nervous and excited."
Vocabulary lists containing proximate
This Week in Words: April 22 - 27, 2018
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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 causation always flows from Proximate to Ultimate domain.
From Scientific American • Dec. 15, 2011
The distinction between Proximate and Ultimate questions, especially in the strong version as envisioned by Mayr, suggests a uni-directional causation of biological traits – genes code for traits.
From Scientific American • Dec. 15, 2011
The former two are subsets of Proximate causes, and the latter two are subsets of Ultimate causes.
From Scientific American • Dec. 15, 2011
The paper does not argue we should abandon the terms Proximate and Ultimate.
From Scientific American • Dec. 15, 2011
He received a copy of Proximate Causes, with an injunction that he should review it in The Universal Review, as well as translate it into German.
From The Life of George Borrow by Jenkins, Herbert George
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.
