Word
agentic
Phoneticsagen·tic
/eɪˈdʒɛntɪk/
Definitions
01human agency or personal initiative
adj. describing someone who takes action and makes their own choices to reach a goal, rather than waiting for things to happen.
adj. relating to human agency and the capacity to act independently; characterized by personal initiative, intentional decision-making, and proactive control over one's life rather than passive reaction to external circumstances.
“She takes an agentic approach to solving problems in her daily life.”
“Bandura's social cognitive theory views individuals as agentic producers of their experiences rather than passive products of their environment.”
Academic · Formal
Usage
Common in psychology, sociology, and philosophy when discussing personal autonomy and empowerment.
Synonyms
02autonomous AI or software agents
adj. describing computer programs or AI systems that can plan steps, make decisions, and take actions on their own to achieve a goal.
adj. relating to artificial intelligence systems or software architectures capable of autonomous goal-directed behavior, multi-step planning, tool use, and self-correction without requiring constant human prompts.
“The team developed an agentic assistant that can browse the web and book appointments automatically.”
“Unlike basic chatbots that only answer single prompts, agentic AI operates in iterative loops—breaking high-level goals into subtasks, calling external tools, and evaluating outcomes.”
Technical
Usage
Widely used in modern computer science and artificial intelligence (especially in phrases like agentic AI, agentic workflow, and agentic systems).
Synonyms
Antonyms
Real-World Examples
“Agentic AI doesn't just answer a single question like a chatbot; it runs a loop.” “Agentic AI , a newer form of AI that can act autonomously and automate jobs to a greater extent, may render some current AI expertise and skills less valuable in the future.” “That’s “agentic” as in, you know, having agency — possessing the capacity “to influence and control outcomes through assertive individual action,” as the Oxford English Dictionary has it.” “So-called agentic artificial intelligence doesn’t require a human to tell it what to do.” Etymology
From agent + -ic.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Domains
Scan code
englishreference.com/q/agentic