preemptively

or ��-�𳾱�·�پ��·��

[ pree-emp-tiv-lee ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

adverb

before or in preference to other buyers, claimants, candidates, etc.:
TriStar has preemptively purchased the movie rights to Williams’ new novel, the sequel to her debut bestseller.
as a measure taken against something anticipated or feared; preventively:
Knowing I’d be practicing piano for hours every day, I preemptively left polite notes for the upstairs and downstairs neighbors—with cookies attached—apologizing for the noise.
Bridge. (said of bidding) at an unnecessarily high level, as a defensive maneuver to make communication between one’s opponents more difficult:
The more tricks you are certain of winning, given your hand, the higher the level at which you can bid preemptively.

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Word History and Origins

Origin of preemptively¹

preemptive ( def ) + -ly

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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

Accompanying the raid were dozens of airstrikes that obliterated major military installations across Syria — all part of an Israeli campaign to preemptively defang Syria’s new authorities.

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A flashback shows the pair arguing over their living situation; he’s enthusiastic about relocating the family to the farmhouse, and she’s preemptively suffocating from seclusion’s effects on her work as an artist.

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Still more have preemptively yanked products from their shelves.

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Despite the vagueness of the order, some schools are moving to preemptively comply with the untested order, scrubbing their websites of mentions of diversity and changing programming.

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Edison has said it preemptively cut power to a limited number of lower-capacity distribution lines — the sort typically carried by wooden poles to individual homes and businesses — in areas closest to Eaton Canyon.

From

pre-emptive preemptive right

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