Meaning & use
preemptive
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Meanings
adjectivebefore a noun
Carried out first, in order to stop something that is expected from happening.
Grammar: Goes before a noun: a preemptive strike.
Patterns
- preemptive action
- preemptive measures against something
The city took preemptive steps before the flood arrived.
She sent a preemptive apology to avoid a row.
Doctors may give preemptive treatment to high-risk patients.
adjectivebefore a nounlegalfinance
Giving someone the first chance to buy something before it is offered to others.
Grammar: A legal or financial use, as in preemptive rights.
Patterns
- preemptive right
Shareholders have a preemptive right to buy new stock.
The tenant held a preemptive option on the building.
Common combinations
- preemptive strike
- The army launched a preemptive strike.
- preemptive measures
- Officials took preemptive measures against fraud.
- preemptive action
- Preemptive action saved the crops.
- preemptive attack
- Critics called the plan a preemptive attack.
- preemptive move
- The firm's preemptive move surprised its rivals.
Synonyms and how they differ
- precautionary
- Precautionary stresses care to avoid harm, while preemptive stresses getting in first.
- anticipatory
- Anticipatory simply means done in expectation, and it does not suggest blocking a rival.
- proactive
- Proactive means taking the lead to shape events, and need not involve a specific threat.
- defensive
- Defensive means protecting oneself, while preemptive acts before the threat begins.
Opposites
Word family
- preempt verb
- to prevent something by acting first
- preemption noun
- the act of preempting
- preemptively adverb
- in a way that acts in advance
- empt noun
- not a word; the root is Latin emere, to buy
Commonly confused: preemptive or presumptive? preemptive or prompt?
preemptive vs presumptive
Presumptive means assumed to be true or likely, as in a presumptive winner, and does not mean acting first.
preemptive vs prompt
Prompt means quick, while preemptive means acting before something occurs.
Practice
A shop owner boards up windows before a hurricane. This is a ____ measure.
Choose one answer.
Preemptive means acting in advance to stop expected harm. A reactive measure would come after the damage.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “preemptive”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.