# progressive

Pronunciation: say "pruh-GRES-iv" US/UK /pɹəˈɡɹɛsɪv/, AUS /pɹəˈɡɹesɪv/

## Adjective

1. Actively supporting reform, fresh ideas, and new policies or methods as a way of improving conditions.
   - Simple: Wanting to make things better by trying new ideas, methods, or rules.
   - _The company adopted a progressive approach to remote work, scrapping fixed hours entirely._
   - _Reformers pushed progressive measures aimed at improving public health._
2. Politically liberal; favoring reform and left-of-center policies.
   - Simple: Having liberal, left-leaning political views.
   - _The senator built a progressive platform around healthcare and workers' rights._
   - _Voters in the district have leaned progressive for decades._
4. Favoring or promoting progress; advanced or forward-looking.
   - Simple: Forward-looking and in favor of new, better ways of doing things.
   - _The clinic adopted progressive treatment protocols years ahead of its peers._
   - _Critics praised the studio's progressive approach to storytelling._
6. Gradually advancing in extent or amount; steadily increasing.
   - Simple: Slowly growing or increasing little by little.
   - _The report described a progressive widening of the income gap over the decade._
   - _Engineers observed a progressive increase in pressure as the valve closed._
7. Of a tax or tax system: increasing in rate as the taxable amount rises.
   - Simple: Used about a tax that takes a bigger share as the amount gets larger.
   - _Most income tax systems are progressive, taxing each higher bracket at a steeper rate._
   - _Lawmakers defended the progressive structure as fairer to low-income households._
8. Of a disease or condition: advancing in severity and growing steadily worse.
   - Simple: Used about an illness that slowly gets worse over time.
   - _Multiple sclerosis can follow a progressive course, with disability accumulating over years._
   - _The neurologist classified the disorder as progressive rather than relapsing._
9. Of a verb form or tense, expressing a continuous, ongoing action.
   - Simple: Used about a verb form that shows an action is still going on.
   - _English forms the progressive with a form of 'be' plus an -ing verb._
   - _The progressive aspect emphasizes that the action was unfolding at the time._
10. Relating to progressive education, an approach emphasizing experiential, student-centered learning over rote instruction.
   - Simple: Connected with progressive education, a teaching style based on hands-on, child-centered learning.
   - _The academy's progressive curriculum favors hands-on projects over memorization and testing._
   - _Many progressive classrooms arrange desks in circles to encourage discussion._

## Noun

3. A person with liberal or reform-minded political beliefs.
   - Simple: A person who holds liberal, left-leaning political beliefs.
   - _As a lifelong progressive, she championed voting rights at every turn._
   - _The debate pitted progressives against conservatives over tax policy._
5. Someone who actively champions and works for reform aimed at improving conditions, particularly in society or government.
   - Simple: A person who works hard to make society or government better.
   - _A committed progressive, he devoted his career to reforming the prison system._
   - _The council's progressives campaigned tirelessly for affordable housing._
11. A verb in the progressive tense, used to express ongoing action and, in English, generally ending in -ing.
   - Simple: A verb form that shows ongoing action, usually ending in -ing in English.
   - _The sentence opens with a progressive, signaling that the action was still underway._
   - _Learners often confuse the simple present with the progressive._
12. Clipping of progressive dinner. — Clipping of progressive dinner
   - Simple: Short for progressive dinner. A meal where each course is eaten at a different home.
   - _Each summer the club organizes a progressive, moving from appetizers to dessert across four homes._
   - _They planned the progressive so guests would walk between courses._

## Origin

From Middle French progressif, from Latin prōgressīvus, formed from prōgredior (with the perfect participle stem prōgress-) plus -īvus. It replaced the native Old English forþgenġe. By surface analysis, it is progress plus -ive.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/progressive (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).