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Proactive vs Preventive - What's the difference?

proactive | preventive |

As adjectives the difference between proactive and preventive

is that proactive is acting in advance to deal with an expected change or difficulty while preventive is preventing, hindering, or acting as an obstacle to.

As a noun preventive is

a thing that prevents, hinders, or acts as an obstacle to.

proactive

Adjective

(en adjective)
  • Acting 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.

    Usage notes

    Some consider proactive to be a buzzword, and it is associated with business-speak.The good grammar guide, by Richard Palmer, 2003, p. 157 Depending on use, alternatives include active, or “show initiative” instead of “be proactive ”.

    Synonyms

    * anticipatory * forward-looking

    Antonyms

    * reactive

    Derived terms

    * proactively * proactivity * proactiveness

    References

    * The Word Detective, Issue of February 5, 2001 ----

    preventive

    English

    Adjective

    (en adjective)
  • Preventing, hindering, or acting as an obstacle to.
  • Carried out to deter military aggression.
  • Slowing the development of an illness; prophylactic.
  • * Sir Thomas Browne
  • Physic is either curative or preventive .
  • (obsolete) Going before; preceding.
  • * Cudworth
  • Any previous counsel or preventive understanding.

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • (dated) A thing that prevents, hinders, or acts as an obstacle to.
  • * 1856 , Henry William Herbert, The Complete Manual for Young Sportsmen
  • Dogs should be warmly but airily housed; heartily, but not heatingly, fed — old Indian meal, mixed with oatmeal, suppawn, is the best general food, with a small quantity of salt, which is a preventive against worms
  • (nonstandard) A thing that slows the development of an illness.
  • A contraceptive, especially a condom.
  • Alternative forms

    * preventative

    Usage notes

    * Many speakers prefer to use preventive'' in adjective senses and ''preventative in noun senses.[http://www.wsu.edu/~brians/errors/nonerrors.html
  • preventive]
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