Word.ws English Dictionary

How to use proactive in a sentence

16 example sentences · adjective

Proactive means acting in advance to deal with an expected change or difficulty. Example: “We can deal with each problem as it pops up, or we can take a proactive stance and try to prevent future problems.”

Examples of proactive by meaning

adjectiveActing in advance to deal with an expected change or difficulty.

  • We can deal with each problem as it pops up, or we can take a proactive stance and try to prevent future problems.
  • Staff are also proactive in approaching any passengers looking as though they need assistance, rather than waiting to be approached.2019 December 4, Andy Coward, “Derby's crowning achievement”, in Rail, page 56

More sentences with proactive

  • We’re already taking proactive steps to protect our hip pockets in the face of rising interest rates.2022 July 19, Jessica Mizrahi, “With inflation rising in Australia, an uncomfortable truth is we waste a lot of what we have”, in The…. From the entry hip pocket
  • However, an implication floats over the proactive, constructive intent of the phrase: its element of distance, coolness, indifference.2023 September 12, John McWhorter, “What Is 'It Is What It Is'?”, in New York Times, retrieved 13 Sep 2023. From the entry it is what it is
  • "Where I come from 'proactive defense' is a euphemism for "first strike." "This is not that approach, Putzho.2017 June 23, Howard Tayler, Schlock Mercenary, archived from the original on 20 Jan 2024. From the entry first strike
  • This influence is exerted from conscious, proactive effort.2007, Kevin Potts, Web Design and Marketing Solutions for Business Websites, Apress, →ISBN, page 286. From the entry ambient findability
  • Youngs argues that proactive external projection in the name of certain values is now central to the EU's identity formation.2006, Hanna Ojanen, “The EU's Responsibility for Global Security and Defence”, in Hartmut Mayer, Henri Vogt, editors, A Responsible…. From the entry youngs
  • If only Parky had been so proactive.2005 February 15, “Shortcuts”, in The Guardian. From the entry -izzle
  • Signals to subjects to forget presignal items completely eliminated the proactive interference postsignal items would normally suffer from the presignal items.2000, Angela Vanessa Knox, Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging of Inhibitory Processes During Directed Forgetting. From the entry presignal
  • Above all, Eurostar needs to be proactive in improving the service, reducing fares, and getting back to a post-COVID normal, despite Brexit.2023 February 8, Christian Wolmar, “Pressing issues to help Eurostar fulfil its ambitions”, in RAIL, number 976, page 39. From the entry branch line
  • The centroparietal positivity facilitated both task types and both transition types, and is consistent with a primary role for facilitating general proactive cognitive control.2015 August 1, “Functional Roles of Neural Preparatory Processes in a Cued Stroop Task Revealed by Linking Electrophysiology with…. From the entry centroparietal
  • Scientists should become more proactive in providing advice to politicians and policy-makers where proposed new policies involve knowledge they possess from their research.2013 November 4, Michael W Elves, Ian Gibson, “What is the scientist's role in society and how do we teach it?”, in Alan Rusbridger…. From the entry policy-maker
  • I believe that therapists need to be proactive rather than laissez faire in addressing problems— if not immediately, then sooner rather than later.1994, Harold S. Bernard, K. Roy MacKenzie, Basics of Group Psychotherapy, page 156. From the entry sooner rather than later
  • At this early stage, the benefits of Africa's integration have become very espoused by some proactive afrocrats and leaders such as Kwame Nkrumah, Julius Nyerere, Tafawa Balewa, among others.2023, Vincent Okwudiba Anyika, Kelechi Johnmary Ani, “Changing Dynamics of African Diplomacy"Concluding Thoughts from Pre-colonial Era to…. From the entry espoused
  • Despite having a proactive and valued role to play in the pandemic, primary care teams are unfortunately not exempt from the ups and downs of the coronacoaster experience.2020 December 17, Liz Price, Medical and Dental Defence Union of Scotland, archived from the original on 20 Apr 2024. From the entry coronacoaster
  • Front foot thinking is about 'being in place', taking the initiative and being proactive, rather than being caught on the back foot, reactive, defensive and uncertain.2015, Christopher Johns, Mindful Leadership: A Guide for the Health Care Professions. From the entry front-foot

Meaning of proactive

  1. adjective Acting in advance to deal with an expected change or difficulty.

Full definition of proactive

Questions about proactive in a sentence

How do you use proactive in a sentence?
Proactive is used as an adjective. For example: “We can deal with each problem as it pops up, or we can take a proactive stance and try to prevent future problems.”
What is a short sentence with proactive?
“If only Parky had been so proactive.”
What does proactive mean?
Proactive means acting in advance to deal with an expected change or difficulty.

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: proactive (page history and authors) and the entries each sentence comes from. Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws chose the sentences, left out offensive ones and quotations older than 1900, and marked the word in each. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Cite this page: “How to use proactive in a sentence.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/sentences/proactive. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.