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Glite Dictionary
⏳ In advance 📺 Before replacement
preemptively

preemptively

6.5
Before something else starts, replacing or interrupting it
  • adverb
  • /priˈɛmp.tɪv.li/
  • US
translation icon : anticipadamente
  • To ensure a smooth meeting, the manager preemptively scheduled a backup time in case of delays.

Examples

  • The online seating chart will now preemptively mark any seats that have been booked for kids with this icon.

  • All I know is don't preemptively be like we're not going to come on bars on BFFS, but we will go on Plant breed because that makes me hate your guts.

  • Don't love that, Let me just preemptively squeeze a bit more of the black.

  • This will destroy most of our potential carrot for dealing with the problem of Philadelphia abusing its discretion preemptively.

    Blog text (23)

  • The broadcaster decided to preemptively air the important announcement to avoid confusion later.

  • The scheduling team preemptively adjusted the program to accommodate unexpected events.

Synonyms

proactively
vspreemptively
13 4.4

Taking action before a problem happens to prevent it

focuses on interrupting or replacing planned events rather than general advance action
preventively
vspreemptively
1 3.9

In a way that stops something before it happens

intervenes by interrupting or replacing events before they occur

Antonyms

reactively
1 5.3

In a way that responds to events after they happen instead of before

How Early

preemptively
  • US
6.5
ahead of time
76 2.3
on schedule
78 2.0

Surface Forms

preemptively positive

Morphology

preemptively = preemptive (transparent) = preempt + ive + ly

Productive adverbial formation from the adjective 'preemptive'; the sense of acting beforehand (including interrupting or replacing) follows from the verb/adjective meaning.

Etymology

Preemptively comes from the Latin parts prae- 'before' and emere 'to buy', so it originally meant 'to take or buy something ahead of time'. That's why we can say a channel or organizer acts preemptively when it interrupts or replaces a planned event by taking its place before it happens.