Vanguard
What it means
The leading position in a new development or movement.
Reach for it when naming the people or work at the leading edge of a movement or development
Local engineers placed the town at the vanguard of recycling.
Words to choose between 6
| playful | |
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| everyday | |
| warm | |
| professional | |
| formal |
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| literary |
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playful
trailblazers
Fits when individuals break conventions and enable followers
Careful Trailblazers can romanticize work built collectively.
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everyday
spearhead
Fits when the group actively drives an initiative
Careful Spearhead stresses direction, not novelty.
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warm
pioneers
Fits when first practitioners opened a path for others
Careful Pioneers need not remain current leaders.
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professional
Fits when leading position is more important than people
Careful Forefront names a place in development, not its leaders.
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professional
Fits when technical novelty defines the position
Careful Leading edge often describes technology rather than a group.
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literary
Fits when experimental artistic innovation is central
Careful Avant-garde carries cultural and stylistic associations.
Opposites 3
- rear guard
- followers
- traditionalists
Common phrases 3
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at the vanguard
Community labs are at the vanguard of low-cost water testing.
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vanguard of reform
The nurses stood in the vanguard of reform across the hospital network.
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creative vanguard
A creative vanguard transformed discarded textiles into durable housing panels.
Definitions and examples are written for this site. How words are chosen Recording: Vealhurl, Southern England accent, from Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 Updated