preemptive
Americanadjective
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of or relating to preemption.
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taken as a measure against something possible, anticipated, or feared; preventive; deterrent.
a preemptive tactic against a ruthless business rival.
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preempting or possessing the power to preempt; appropriative; privileged.
a commander's preemptive authority.
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Bridge. pertaining to, involving, or noting an opening bid or an overcall in a suit that is at an unnecessarily high level and that is essentially a defensive maneuver designed to make communication between one's opponents more difficult.
a preemptive bid; to give a preemptive response.
Other Word Forms
- preemptively adverb
Etymology
Origin of preemptive
Explanation
A preemptive action is made to keep some other action from being taken. Before you could be accused of eating the whole cake, you decided to make a preemptive apology, which was met with awkward silence. Tired of being disturbed by your roommate's loud music, your preemptive strike was to crank up your favorite opera as soon as you arrived home. Unfortunately, he'd already made a preemptive strike of his own by borrowing your stereo. Don't confuse preemptive with peremptory, a word meaning “arrogant.” You don't have to be arrogant to make a preemptive move, just cautious.
Vocabulary lists containing preemptive
Darius the Great Is Not Okay
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The Fault in Our Stars
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The Field Guide to the North American Teenager
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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.
Israeli officials described it as a preemptive attack to “remove threats to the State of Israel.”
From Salon • Mar. 4, 2026
However, benign credit costs could provide support, as it has over MYR900 million of preemptive provisions.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 9, 2026
The neighbouring provinces of Sorsogon and Albay also called for preemptive evacuations, but official figures were not immediately available.
From Barron's • Oct. 18, 2025
Because they roamed under the ocean’s surface, the subs were also undetectable and, therefore, less vulnerable than fixed land-based missiles to an enemy preemptive attack.
From Slate • Sep. 16, 2025
By 1779 General George Washington ordered preemptive action against the Haudenosaunee.
From "An Indigenous People’s History of the United States" by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz
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.
