Synonyms of progressive

progressive 1 of 2

adjective

prə-ˈgre-siv 

1

as in advanced

being far along in development

progressive forms of animal life

Synonyms & Similar Words

• advanced
• higher
• evolved
• improved
• high
• developed
• modern
• late
• educated
• enhanced
• forward
• refined
• new
• contemporary
• newest
• enlightened
• precocious
• civilized
• latest
• current
• recent
• full-scale
• ripe
• grown
• mature
• matured
• full-blown
• full-fledged
• aged
• novel
• ultramodern
• perfected
• present-day
• newfangled
• ripened
• up-to-date
• cutting-edge
• leading-edge
• now
• new-fashioned
• supermodern
• mod
• space-age

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• lower
• primitive
• backward
• nonprogressive
• low
• rudimentary
• undeveloped
• green
• rude
• immature
• underdeveloped
• savage
• undersized
• early
• uneducated
• underweight
• unripe
• uncivilized
• embryonic
• old
• unripened
• primordial
• primeval
• past
• germinal
• obsolete
• antiquated
• old-fashioned
• old-time
• antique
• antediluvian
• hoary
• out-of-date
• Neanderthal
• outworn
• musty
• fusty
• dated
• passé
• oldfangled

2

as in liberal

not bound by traditional ways or beliefs

a socially progressive community, it was the first to provide for the public education of girls

Synonyms & Similar Words

• liberal
• modern
• unconventional
• radical
• contemporary
• nontraditional
• nonconventional
• advanced
• unorthodox
• broad-minded
• open-minded
• nonorthodox
• extreme
• permissive
• tolerant
• lenient
• impartial
• large-minded
• unbiased
• forbearing
• indulgent
• objective

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• conservative
• traditional
• conventional
• orthodox
• rigid
• old-fashioned
• strict
• hard
• nonprogressive
• dogmatic
• stodgy
• doctrinal
• hidebound
• reactionary
• intolerant
• bigoted
• blinkered
• narrow-minded
• unreconstructed

3

as in pioneering

being or employing the latest concepts, styles, or techniques

one of the founders of progressive dance, Isadora Duncan became an inspiration to an array of free-spirited artists

Synonyms & Similar Words

• advanced
• pioneering
• unconventional
• modern
• contemporary
• revolutionary
• new
• avant
• original
• underground
• cutting-edge
• avant-garde
• state-of-the-art
• current
• alternative
• strange
• bizarre
• modernistic
• nontraditional
• antiestablishment
• novel
• trailblazing
• unprecedented
• unfamiliar
• fresh
• outré
• unknown
• unheard-of
• way-out
• hot
• ultramodern
• present-day
• newfangled
• up-to-date
• unaccustomed
• far-out
• new-fashioned
• mod
• red-hot
• space-age

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• traditional
• conventional
• customary
• established
• orthodox

progressive

2 of 2

noun

as in moderate

Related Words

• moderate
• reformer
• centrist
• middle-of-the-roader
• compromiser
• accommodationist

Dissimilar Words

• revolutionary
• extremist
• conservative
• revolutionist
• liberal
• reactionary
• radical
• rightist
• leftist
• ultraist
• right-winger
• left-winger

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of progressive

Adjective

Something like trying to cure diseases, that's not a time-neutral agenda item for people who have degenerative and progressive disease. — Lori A Bashian, FOXNews.com, 23 July 2026

Jackson shares Platner’s progressive ideology but none of his charisma. — Philip Elliott, Time, 23 July 2026

Noun

In an even more progressive slice of Brooklyn and western Queens, Mamdani pick Assemblywoman Claire Valdez is leading in some polls of an unpredictable open NY-07 race against Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso, a fellow progressive. — Dave Goldiner, New York Daily News, 20 June 2026

But the victory by Dunlap, a progressive, represents the worst-case scenario for national Democrats who tried to keep him off the general election ballot. — James A. Downs, The Washington Examiner, 19 June 2026