Progressive

How to spell progressive

11 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce progressive

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does progressive mean?

1. adjectiveFavouring reform, innovation, or steady advancement rather than tradition.
2. adjectiveHappening or developing gradually, in steady steps over time.

Progressive in a sentence

• The council adopted a progressive housing policy to help first-time buyers.

• The doctor described a progressive decline in his hearing over several years.

• Her progressive approach to management gave staff more flexible hours.

• A progressive tax means higher earners pay a larger share.

Where does progressive come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word traces back to the Latin verb gradi, meaning 'to step' or 'to walk', and its past participle gressus, 'stepped'. Attaching the prefix pro-, meaning 'forward', gave the sense of moving onward, the same root that powers 'progress', 'gradual', and 'aggression'. By way of the Late Latin progressivus and Old French, English adopted 'progressive' in the seventeenth century to describe anything advancing in stages or by steady steps. From there it branched into many fields: a 'progressive' illness worsens gradually, a 'progressive' tax rises with income, and in politics it came to mean favouring reform and forward-looking change, a sense that flourished in the early twentieth century. The buried 'gress' (the same step found in 'congress' and 'digress') is a handy reminder that the double 's' belongs in the middle.

How the word is built

• pro- (forward)
• gress (from gradi: to step, walk)
• -ive (adjective/noun suffix)