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preemptive

Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • adjective Undertaken or intended to deter or prevent an anticipated, usually unpleasant situation or occurrence.
  • adjective Having the power to preempt or take precedence.
  • adjective Games Relating to or being a bid in bridge at a high level that is intended to interfere with the opponents' bidding.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • adjective Of or relating to preemption.
  • adjective Made so as to deter an anticipated unpleasant situation.
  • adjective bridge Intended to interfere with an opponent's bidding.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • adjective designed or having the power to deter or prevent an anticipated situation or occurrence

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

preempt +‎ -ive.

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Examples

  • The term preemptive gets bantered around a lot on thie subject of this war but preventive is more accurate, although its sounds a lot less P(ublic)R(elations)-correct.

    Can This Argument Be Won? 2004

  • No. I actually -- I have some celebrities who do what I call a preemptive strike like one time Alec Baldwin came up to me and whispered in my ear, I think you're hilarious.

    CNN Transcript Jun 6, 2008 2008

  • Preventive war has been described as an important element of the Bush Doctrine, although the U.S. government read bushco doublespeak uses the term preemptive in a way which is partly consistent with international usage…

    Firedoglake » Are We Already at War in Iran? 2006

  • We both now practice what we call preemptive oversight.

    CNN Transcript Nov 2, 2005 2005

  • The French destroyed the country's Air Force in what it called a preemptive strike after an attack killed nine French troops over the weekend.

    CNN Transcript Nov 9, 2004 2004

  • MILLER: Well, I think that this is part of a gradual shift that we have seen in the administration towards what we call a preemptive doctrine.

    CNN Transcript Jun 17, 2002 2002

  • There was the removal of the U.N. Troops, the closure of the Straits of Tiran, and then the Israelis attacked in what they call a preemptive move.

    This Side of Peace 1995

  • Strategic Command charged with, among other things, ensuring that we dominate the heavens, and the newest of all the “geographic” commands, CYBERCOM, expected to be fully operational later this fall with “1,000 elite military hackers and spies under one four-star general” prepared to engage in preemptive war in cyberspace.

    Tom Engelhardt: A World Made by War: How Old Will You Be When the American War State Goes Down? Tom Engelhardt 2010

  • Strategic Command charged with, among other things, ensuring that we dominate the heavens, and the newest of all the “geographic” commands, CYBERCOM, expected to be fully operational later this fall with “1,000 elite military hackers and spies under one four-star general” prepared to engage in preemptive war in cyberspace.

    Tom Engelhardt: A World Made by War: How Old Will You Be When the American War State Goes Down? Tom Engelhardt 2010

  • Strategic Command charged with, among other things, ensuring that we dominate the heavens, and the newest of all the “geographic” commands, CYBERCOM, expected to be fully operational later this fall with “1,000 elite military hackers and spies under one four-star general” prepared to engage in preemptive war in cyberspace.

    Tom Engelhardt: A World Made by War: How Old Will You Be When the American War State Goes Down? Tom Engelhardt 2010

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