progressive
pruh-GRES-iv
/prəˈɡres.ɪv/
Favoring social reform or new liberal ideas; or (of taxation) increasing in rate as the taxable amount increases.
In tax policy, 'progressive' has an exact mathematical definition: high earners pay a higher percentage of their income than lower earners.
The story behind the word. Comes from Latin 'progressus', meaning 'a step forward.' The root verb 'gradi' (to step) gives us words like grade and gradual. Political thinkers in the 19th century adopted 'progressive' to describe ideas that moved society forward away from feudalism.
Word relationships
- reformist: Reformist focuses on making gradual system modifications, whereas progressive implies moving forward toward modern social development.
- graduated: Graduated specifically describes stepped financial rates without carrying political ideology connotations.
- regressive: A regressive tax takes a larger percentage of income from low earners than from high earners.
- conservative: Conservative favors preserving traditional institutions and lower tax burdens.
Commonly confused with
- proportional: Proportional taxation applies the same percentage to everyone ('flat tax'), whereas progressive increases percentages as income grows.
Word family
- progress (noun/verb): Forward movement or development.
- progressively (adverb): In a progressive manner; steadily.
Collocations
- progressive tax
- progressive policy
- progressive movement
- progressive reforms
Example sentences
- "Under a progressive income tax system, individuals in higher earning brackets are taxed at incrementally higher marginal rates." Tax Policy
- "The coalition advanced a progressive agenda focused on worker protections and environmental regulation." Political Science
Memory hook
PRO = Forward; STEP forward into modern policies. Step forward.
When not to use
Do not confuse progressive tax with regressive tax, nor with simple steady increases in non-tax metrics.
Fun facts
- Sales tax is considered 'regressive' because lower-income consumers spend a higher fraction of total earnings on basic goods than high earners.
Related words
Explore more words
proportional, equitable, redistribution, distributive, egalitarian, incremental
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