Cumulative

//ˈkjuːmjʊlətɪv// adj

adj ·Moderate ·College level

Definitions

Adjective
  1. 1
    Incorporating all current and previous data up to the present or at the time of measuring or collating.
  2. 2
    That is formed by an accumulation of successive additions.

    "As for knowledge which man receiveth by teaching, it is cumulative, not original."

  3. 3
    That is formed by an accumulation of successive additions.; Adding one statement to another.

    "cumulative conjunctions like and, both…and and as well as"

  4. 4
    That tends to accumulate.
  5. 5
    Having priority rights to receive a dividend that accrue until it is paid.
Show 1 more definition
  1. 6
    (of evidence, witnesses, etc.) Intended to illustrate an argument that has already been demonstrated excessively.

    "The state wants to bring in ten blood-spatter experts to testify. Your Honor, that is cumulative testimony."

Adjective
  1. 1
    increasing by successive addition wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms
additiveabsoluteaccumulatedaccumulativeaccumulativeadditional

Example

More examples

"Threats to freedom of speech, writing and action, though often trivial in isolation, are cumulative in their effect and, unless checked, lead to a general disrespect for the rights of the citizen."

Etymology

From cumulate + -ive. Compare also French cumulatif, Italian cumulativo and Spanish cumulativo.

Related phrases

cumulative distribution functioncumulative effectcumulative errorcumulative voting

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.