From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishproximateprox‧i‧mate /ˈprɒksəmət $ ˈprɑːk-/ adjective formal 1 CAUSEa proximate cause is a direct one2 NEARnearest in time, order, or family relationship SYN close
Examples from the Corpus
proximate• It is clear that the proximate cause has been government action.• The proximate cause is more simple.• The proximate cause of death was colon cancer.• The last straw that breaks the camel's back is indeed the proximate cause of that misfortune.• But still these are all proximate causes of poor performance.• The foregoing discussion has dealt with proximate causes.• Sampling directly from the pancreatic duct provides a more proximate sample for cytological diagnosis and may improve the diagnostic sensitivity.• Regional networks evolved from networks that originally connected geographically proximate universities.Origin proximate (1500-1600) Latin past participle of proximare “to go near”, from proximus “nearest, next” 