prospective

adjective

pro·​spec·​tive prə-ˈspek-tiv 

also ˈprä-ˌspek-, 

prō-ˈspek-, 

prä-ˈspek-

1

: relating to or effective in the future

2

a

: likely to come about : expected

the prospective benefits of this law

b

: likely to be or become

a prospective mother

prospectively adverb

Examples of prospective in a Sentence

In 2005 [Jerry] Colangelo arranged face-to-face sit-downs with every prospective national team player, to hear in their own words why they wanted to represent their country. —Alexander Wolff, Sports Illustrated, 28 July 2008

All too often in the post-Vietnam past—the first Gulf War, for example—the default position of the Democratic Party has been to assume that any prospective use of U.S. military power would be immoral. —Joe Klein, Time, 21 Aug. 2006

All of these arguments were prospective, all anticipated the role that public opinion would play in future constitutional disputes. —Jack N. Rakove, Original Meanings …, 1996

Recent Examples on the Web

The SpaceX agreement came together so late in Cursor’s fundraising process that prospective investors were caught off guard by the deal, one of the sources said. —Kate Rooney,jordan Novet, CNBC, 23 Apr. 2026

The fund, which has begun accepting interest forms from prospective businesses and nonprofits, intends to allocate $3 million toward housing projects and $2 million toward economic development projects downtown. —Frederick Melo, Twin Cities, 23 Apr. 2026

Key projects under construction include new units at the Kursk, Leningrad and Smolensk sites, a prospective plant in the Far East, and prospective floating nuclear units. —Vladimir Isachenkov, Fortune, 23 Apr. 2026

Surprised by Humidor, Jacqueline Ayer, a resident of Acton for 25 years and a mechanical engineer, logged on to CAISO’s website and discovered that three additional prospective battery projects had applied to connect to the substation. —Bloomberg, Oc Register, 23 Apr. 2026

Word History

Etymology

see prospect entry 1

First Known Use

1788, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for prospective

• advective
• affective
• collective
• connective
• convective
• corrective
• defective
• detective
• directive
• effective
• elective
• infective

Kids Definition

prospective

adjective

pro·​spec·​tive prə-ˈspek-tiv 

also ˈprä-ˌspek-, 

prō-ˈspek-, 

prä-ˈspek-

1

: likely to come about

prospective benefits

2

: likely to become

a prospective buyer

Medical Definition

prospective

adjective

pro·​spec·​tive prə-ˈspek-tiv 

: relating to or being a study (as of the incidence of disease) that starts with the present condition of a population of individuals and follows them into the future compare retrospective

prospectively

-lē 

adverb

Legal Definition

prospective

adjective

pro·​spec·​tive prə-ˈspek-tiv, ˈprä-ˌspek- 

1

: relating to or effective in the future

a statute's prospective effect

2

: likely to come about : expected to happen

prospective inability to perform the contract

3

: likely to be or become

a prospective buyer

prospectively adverb