Skip to main content
PlainSpell

progressive

pro·gress·ive/pɹəˈɡɹɛsɪv/adjective, noun

progressive is spelled P-R-O-G-R-E-S-S-I-V-E: 11 letters and 3 syllables (pro·gress·ive). It appears 22 times per million words in written English, the 4,015th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, progressive means “Favouring or promoting progress; advanced” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).

How many letters and syllables are in progressive?

Letters11: P-R-O-G-R-E-S-S-I-V-E
Syllables3: pro·gress·ive
In writing22 times per million words; the 4,015th most frequent word form
Wrong spellings searchednone measured in search
Rhymes with

Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.

How common is progressive?

Progressive appears 22 times per million words in written English, the 4,015th most frequent word form in the list.

Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

How do you pronounce progressive?

  • UK /pɹəˈɡɹɛsɪv/
  • US /pɹəˈɡɹɛsɪv/
  • US /pɹoʊ-/

Progressive has 3 syllables, split pro·gress·ive in writing.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-progressive.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).

What rhymes with progressive?

5 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as progressive from its last stressed vowel (/ɛsɪv/):

Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).

Forms of progressive

  • more progressive comparative
  • most progressive superlative
  • prog.
  • prog
  • progressives plural

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What does progressive mean?

The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).

adjective

  1. 1

    Favouring or promoting progress; advanced.

  2. 2

    Gradually advancing in extent; increasing.

  3. 3

    Promoting or favoring progress towards improved conditions or new policies, ideas, or methods.

    a progressive politician

  4. 4

    Liberal.

  5. 5

    Of or relating to progressive education.

    a progressive school

  6. 6

    Increasing in rate as the taxable amount increases.

  7. 7

    Advancing in severity.

    progressive paralysis

  8. 8

    Continuous.

noun

  1. 1

    One with liberal or progressive political beliefs.

    The progressives want to legalise gay marriage.

  2. 2

    A person who actively favors or strives for progress towards improved conditions, as in society or government.

  3. 3

    A progressive verb; a verb used in the progressive tense and (in English) generally conjugated to end in -ing.

  4. 4

    Clipping of progressive dinner

adjective

as Progressive
  1. 1

    Belonging to or supporting a Progressive Party.

  2. 2

    Of or pertaining to such a party, its policies, or its membership.

noun

as Progressive
  1. 1

    A member or supporter of a Progressive Party.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

How do you abbreviate progressive?

Wiktionary records 2 abbreviations of progressive: prog, prog..

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

Progressive in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese

LanguageWords
Germanfortschrittlich, progressiv (favouring or promoting progress; advanced)
Portugueseprogressista (favouring or promoting progress; advanced), progressivo, progressiva (gradually advancing in extent; increasing)
Spanishprogresista (favouring or promoting progress; advanced), progresivo (gradually advancing in extent; increasing)
Frenchprogressif (gradually advancing in extent; increasing)

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.

Where does progressive come from?

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.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What to look up after progressive