preemptive
/pɹiːˈɛmp.tɪv/
preemptive adjective: made so as to deter an anticipated unpleasant situation.
Adjective
preemptive (comparative more preemptive, superlative most preemptive)
- Made so as to deter an anticipated unpleasant situation.
- a preemptive attack on the enemy
- Extreme risk protection order (ERPO) laws, sometimes known as gun violence restraining order or "red-flag" laws, are risk-based, temporary, and preemptive protective orders that authorize the removal of firearms from individuals determined to be at risk for committing gun violence against others or...2023 January 10, “The Effects of Extreme Risk Protection Orders”, in RAND Corporation, archived from the original on 25 Apr 2025
- Synonyms:
- preemptory
- Intended to interfere with an opponent's bidding.
- Synonyms:
- preemptory
preemptive meaning in Kannada and Persian
preemptive in Kannada
- ಪೂರ್ವಭಾವಿ, ಇತರರಿಗಿಂತ ಮುಂಚಿನ, ಮುನ್ನೆಚ್ಚರಿಕೆಯ, ಪೂರ್ವಕ್ರಮದ
preemptive in Persian
- of or relating to preemption
- پیشدستانه piš-dastâne
- so as to deter an anticipated unpleasant situation
- پیشدستانه piš-dastâne
Synonyms of preemptive
Forms of preemptive
| comparative | more preemptive |
|---|---|
| superlative | most preemptive |
| alternative form | preëmptive |
| alternative form | pre-emptive |
| alternative form (archaic) | præemptive |
Origin of preemptive
From preempt + -ive.
Words formed from preemptive
- nonpreemptive
- preemptively
- preemptive right
- preemptive self-defence
- preemptive strike
- preemptive therapy
Phrases with preemptive
Questions about preemptive
- What does preemptive mean?
- Preemptive means made so as to deter an anticipated unpleasant situation.
- What is preemptive in Kannada?
- Preemptive in Kannada is ಪೂರ್ವಭಾವಿ, ಇತರರಿಗಿಂತ ಮುಂಚಿನ, ಮುನ್ನೆಚ್ಚರಿಕೆಯ. See Preemptive meaning in Kannada.
- What part of speech is preemptive?
- Preemptive is an adjective.
- How do you pronounce preemptive?
- Preemptive is pronounced /pɹiːˈɛmp.tɪv/.
Words near preemptive in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: preemptive (page history and authors); preemptive (Kannada Wiktionary) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-us-preemptive.ogg.
Cite this entry: “preemptive.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/preemptive. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.