Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Progressive and innovative: Characterized by thinking about and planning for the future in a modern, advanced, or innovative way.
   • Ahead of current trends or thinking: Embracing new ideas and developments before they become widely accepted.

Usage

• The adjective "forward-looking" is used to describe people, organizations, plans, or policies that are modern, progressive, and focused on future success and improvement. It is typically used in a positive, complimentary context.

Examples

• Adjective:
  • The company's forward-looking strategy embraced renewable energy long before its competitors.
  • We need forward-looking leaders who can navigate the challenges of the next decade.
  • Her research is truly forward-looking and could revolutionize the field.

Advanced Usage

• "to be forward-looking": to have a progressive, future-oriented mindset.
  • The committee was praised for being forward-looking in its recommendations.
• "forward-looking statement": In business and finance, a declaration about expected future events, often containing assumptions and risks.
  • The annual report contained several forward-looking statements about projected growth.

Variants and Related Words

• Forward-thinking (adj): Very similar in meaning to "forward-looking," emphasizing innovative thought.
  • The forward-thinking mayor invested in smart city infrastructure.
• Progressive (adj): Favoring or implementing new, liberal, or modern ideas.
• Innovative (adj): Featuring new methods; advanced and original.

Synonyms

• Progressive
• Innovative
• Visionary
• Advanced
• Modern

Antonyms

• Backward-looking
• Conservative (in the sense of being traditional and resistant to change)
• Reactionary
• Outdated

Related Phrases

• Future-oriented: Having the future as the main focus or concern.
  • The curriculum is future-oriented, preparing students for jobs that don't yet exist.
• Ahead of the curve: More advanced than others in understanding or adopting new ideas.
  • Their investment in AI showed they were ahead of the curve.

Adjective

1. ahead of the times
   • the advanced teaching methods
   • had advanced views on the subject
   • a forward-looking corporation
   • is British industry innovative enough?