proximate

/ˈprɑksəmət/

Other forms: proximately

Proximate things are either nearby or close in time. The proximate arrival of a new grandchild means your grandma had better finish knitting those booties. A Rube Goldberg machine is like a giant chain of proximate causes – one action causes another.

Use the adjective proximate for things that are close to each other or somehow related. Like the noun proximity, or nearby area, it comes from the Latin root, proximus, "nearest." In legal terms, you may have a case if the proximate cause of a fall was someone’s negligence. You can use proximate to mean "imminent" (or close by, but in terms of time), as in "The proximate publication of her story made her both nervous and excited."

Definitions of proximate

1. adjective

   very close in space or time
   “proximate words”

   “proximate houses”

   synonyms:

   close

   at or within a short distance in space or time or having elements near each other
2. adjective

   closest in degree or order (space or time) especially in a chain of causes and effects
   “news of his proximate arrival”

   “interest in proximate rather than ultimate goals”

   synonyms:

   immediate

   immediately before or after as in a chain of cause and effect

   antonyms:

   ultimate

   furthest or highest in degree or order; utmost or extreme

   crowning

   representing a level of the highest possible achievement or attainment

   eventual

   expected to follow in the indefinite future from causes already operating

   final, last, net

   conclusive in a process or progression

   last-ditch

   of something done as a final recourse (especially to prevent a crisis or disaster)

   supreme

   final or last in your life or progress