VocabauraVOCABAURA

proximate

adjective

Simple meaning

Closest in degree or order usually in a chain of causes and effects.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

prahksuhmuht

Say the bold part a little louder.

US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

ˈpɹɑksəmət

This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

adjective

  1. Closest in degree or order (space or time) especially in a chain of causes and effects

  2. About to take place; impending.

  3. Close or closest; adjacent.

  4. law

    Immediately preceding or following in a chain of causation.

Word at a Glance

Difficulty
C2 · Proficient
Frequency
Rare

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Aura for this meaning

This meaning: Closest in degree or order (space or time) especially in a chain of causes and effects

Used this way, proximate is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.

Emotional tone
Neutral
Formality
Neutral
Intensity
Not strongly marked
How common
Moderately common
Connotation
No strong connotation
Usage feel
Neutral and straightforward

Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.

More ways to use proximate

  • “News of his proximate arrival.”adjective

Share your sentence

Write your own example sentence using “proximate”. We review each one before it appears.

Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

Immediately

proximate resultproximate causation

About

proximate source

Other combinations

proximate principleproximate analysisproximate compositionproximate endgeographically proximate

Tap the highlighted word to open its own entry.

More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin

Synonyms

Sense: closest in degree or order (space

immediate

Use This Word

See how this word sounds in a real sentence.

Ask Vocabaura

Understand the word your way.

What Does It Mean Here?

Words can change meaning depending on context.

Use it yourself

Knowing “proximate” starts when you use it. Pick a next step, all free.

Know the meaning? Practice using it in a real situation, free, no credits.

Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.