emptive
Meaning
Responding to or acting to counteract something when it happens (rather than beforehand).
Examples
Mike Malone recalls how the shaving of his fiancée's head was more of an “emptive” strike, since her hair was already on its way out.
Emptive priority: The service to non-priority customer is stopped as soon as a priority customer arrives.
This situation can be dealt with either in an emptive or pre-emptive fashion. In an emptive system the new entry waits for the other to be completed before beginning. In a pre-emptive system the queue can stop the current entry half way through its execution to start the new one.
Word Forms
more emptive
most emptive
Etymology
Back-formation from preemptive.