Etymology From the Middle French progressif, from the Latin prōgressīvus, from prōgredior (perfect participial stem: prōgress-) + -īvus. Displaced native Old English forþgenġe. By surface analysis, progress + -ive.
Conservative movements were far more progressive than the standard religious narrative of the decade alleges and the notoriously progressive ethos of the era was far more conservative than our collective memory has recognized.2016, Richard Lints, Progressive and Conservative Religious Ideologies, page i:
Michigan Sen. Elissa Slotkin on Wednesday called for “action, not words” from Democrats, criticizing the approach of some in the progressive wing of the party.2025 March 19, Alison Main, “Michigan Democrat says she ‘can’t just be an activist’ and calls on party to act”, in CNN, archived from the original on 22 Mar 2025:
5
Education Of or relating to progressive education.
a progressive school
6
Increasing in rate as the taxable amount increases.
Etymology From the Middle French progressif, from the Latin prōgressīvus, from prōgredior (perfect participial stem: prōgress-) + -īvus. Displaced native Old English forþgenġe. By surface analysis, progress + -ive.
1
One with liberal or progressive political beliefs.
The progressives want to legalise gay marriage.
Not long ago, few progressives imagined this day would come. They assumed the MAGA movement had been discredited by the shocking images that emerged from the January 6 insurrection, and that Trump was politically weakened by the barrage of criminal charges against him.2025 January 19, John Blake, “What MLK knew that today’s progressives keep forgetting”, in CNN, archived from the original on 21 Jan 2025:
progressive
noun
Etymology From the Middle French progressif, from the Latin prōgressīvus, from prōgredior (perfect participial stem: prōgress-) + -īvus. Displaced native Old English forþgenġe. By surface analysis, progress + -ive.
1
A person who actively favors or strives for progress towards improved conditions, as in society or government.
2
Grammar, Human sciences, Linguistics, Sciences A progressive verb; a verb used in the progressive tense and (in English) generally conjugated to end in -ing.