progressive

Syllables: pro·gress·ive/pɹəˈɡɹɛsɪv/US/pɹəˈɡɹɛsɪv/

progressive adjective: favouring or promoting progress; advanced. Also the clipping of progressive dinner.

Adjective (1)

progressive (comparative more progressive, superlative most progressive)

Favouring or promoting progress; advanced.
Gradually advancing in extent; increasing.
Promoting or favoring progress towards improved conditions or new policies, ideas, or methods.
- a progressive politician
- progressive business leadership
Liberal.
- Conservative movements were far more progressive than the standard religious narrative of the decade alleges and the notoriously progressive ethos of the era was far more conservative than our collective memory has recognized.2016, Richard Lints, Progressive and Conservative Religious Ideologies, page i
- Michigan Sen. Elissa Slotkin on Wednesday called for “action, not words” from Democrats, criticizing the approach of some in the progressive wing of the party.2025 March 19, Alison Main, “Michigan Democrat says she ‘can’t just be an activist’ and calls on party to act”, in CNN, archived from the original on 22 Mar 2025
Of or relating to progressive education.
- a progressive school
Increasing in rate as the taxable amount increases.
Advancing in severity.
- progressive paralysis
Continuous.

Noun (1)

progressive (plural progressives)

One with liberal or progressive political beliefs.
- The progressives want to legalise gay marriage.
- Not long ago, few progressives imagined this day would come. They assumed the MAGA movement had been discredited by the shocking images that emerged from the January 6 insurrection, and that Trump was politically weakened by the barrage of criminal charges against him.2025 January 19, John Blake, “What MLK knew that today’s progressives keep forgetting”, in CNN, archived from the original on 21 Jan 2025

Noun (2)

progressive (plural progressives)

A person who actively favors or strives for progress towards improved conditions, as in society or government.
A progressive verb; a verb used in the progressive tense and (in English) generally conjugated to end in -ing.

Adjective (2) capitalized: Progressive

Progressive (comparative more Progressive, superlative most Progressive)

Belonging to or supporting a Progressive Party.
Of or pertaining to such a party, its policies, or its membership.

Noun (3) capitalized: Progressive

Progressive (plural Progressives)

A member or supporter of a Progressive Party.

Also used as

progressive is also the clipping of progressive dinner.

progressive meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Marathi and Urdu

progressive in Hindi

favouring or promoting progress; advanced: प्रगतिशील pragtiśīl
promoting or favoring progress towards improved conditions or new policies, ideas or methods: प्रगतिशील pragtiśīl
politically liberal: उदारवादी udārvādī
A person who actively favors or strives for progress towards improved conditions, as in society or government: प्रगतिशील pragtiśīl

progressive in Tamil

favouring or promoting progress; advanced: முற்போக்கு muṟpōkku
promoting or favoring progress towards improved conditions or new policies, ideas or methods: முற்போக்கு muṟpōkku

progressive in Urdu

ترقی پسند, ترقی پسندانہ

More languagesFewer languages

progressive in Bengali: প্রগতিশীল, প্রগতিপর
progressive in Telugu: ప్రగతిశీల, ప్రగతిశీలం
progressive in Malayalam: പുരോഗമനപരം, പുരോഗമനപരമായ
progressive in Kannada: ಪ್ರಗತಿಪರ
progressive in Punjabi: ਪ੍ਰਗਤੀਸ਼ੀਲ
progressive in Gujarati: પ્રગતિશીલ, પ્રગતિવાદી
progressive in Odia: ପ୍ରଗତିଶୀଳ
progressive in Nepali: प्रगतिशील, प्रगामी
progressive in Tagalog: maunlad, masulong
progressive in Arabic: تَقَدُّمِيّ taqaddumiyy, مُتَرَقٍّ mutaraqqin
progressive in Vietnamese: tiến bộ chủ nghĩa, cấp tiến chủ nghĩa

Examples of progressive in a sentence

His vigorous patronage of the conservatives got him in trouble with progressives.
Progressive taxes attempt to reduce the tax burden of people with a lower ability to pay.
Progressive dances typically start with the leader and the follower facing and backing line of dance, respectively.

All 40 example sentences with progressive

Antonyms of progressive

Forms of progressive

Adjective
comparative	more progressive
superlative	most progressive
alternative abbreviation	prog.
alternative clipping	prog
comparative	more Progressive
superlative	most Progressive
Noun
plural	progressives
plural	Progressives

Plural of progressive: progressives

Origin of progressive

From the Middle French progressif, from the Latin prōgressīvus, from prōgredior (perfect participial stem: prōgress-) + -īvus. Displaced native Old English forþgenġe. By surface analysis, progress + -ive.

Words formed from progressive

Phrases with progressive

7 more phrasesFewer phrases

Words that rhyme with progressive

48 more rhymesFewer rhymes

Questions about progressive

What does progressive mean?: Progressive means favouring or promoting progress; advanced.
What is progressive in Hindi?: Progressive in Hindi is प्रगतिशील (pragtiśīl), उदारवादी (udārvādī). See Progressive meaning in Hindi.
What part of speech is progressive?: Progressive can be an adjective or a noun.
How do you pronounce progressive?: Progressive is pronounced /pɹəˈɡɹɛsɪv/ (UK).

Words near progressive in the dictionary

Last updated: 2026-09-02

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-progressive.wav.

Cite this entry: “progressive.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/progressive. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.