Re: Is "proactive" really a word?

[Dale Barnes <endale -at- LSUVM -dot- SNCC -dot- LSU -dot- EDU>]

At 08:04 AM 10/15/97 -0400, Ron D Rhodes wrote:
>     Dear Grammarians,
>
>     Is "proactive" a word?

Checking the American Heritage Dictionary, I find this definition: "Acting
in advance to deal with an expected difficulty; anticipatory."

I share your skepticism about the word; somehow it doesn't ring right. But I
do remember my dissertation director--almost twenty years ago--saying that
he was a proactive department chair. He was an editor and a careful user of
words, and I'm very authority oriented, so I've reluctantly admitted the
word to my active (not proactive) vocabulary.

Best wishes,
Dale Barnes



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