cumulative
/ˈkjuːmjʊlətɪv/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: 3.55 in modern English
17
Scrabble Score
10
Letters
4
Syllables
9
Unique Chars
Meaning
adj
Incorporating all current and previous data up to the present or at the time of measuring or collating.
adj
That is formed by an accumulation of successive additions.
adj
That is formed by an accumulation of successive additions.
adj
That tends to accumulate.
adj
(of evidence, witnesses, etc.) Intended to illustrate an argument that has already been demonstrated excessively.
Example Sentences
- "As for knowledge which man receiveth by teaching, it is cumulative, not original."
- "The argument […] is in very truth not logical and single, but moral and cumulative."
- "New Zealand meanwhile made it to the finals having beaten Tahiti, Vanuatu, Samoa, Fiji and New Caledonia in qualifying, to the cumulative score of 29-1, and have subsequently lost eight of their last ten matches, the latest an embarrassing 4-0 defeat by Haiti."
- "cumulative conjunctions like and, both…and and as well as"
- "The state wants to bring in ten blood-spatter experts to testify. Your Honor, that is cumulative testimony."
Etymology
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *ḱewh₁- Proto-Indo-European *ḱuh₁mósder.? Latin cumulus Proto-Indo-European *-h₂ Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂ Proto-Indo-European *-yéti Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂yéti Proto-Indo-European *-h₂tiinflu. Proto-Italic *-ājō Proto-Italic *-āō Latin -ō Latin cumulō Latin cumulātusbor. English cumulate Proto-Indo-European *-wós Proto-Indo-European *-iHwósder. Latin -īvus Old French -ifbor. Middle English -yf English -ive English cumulative From cumulate + -ive. Compare also French cumulatif, Italian cumulativo and Spanish cumulativo.
Word Breakdown
Inflected Forms
more cumulative (comparative)
most cumulative (superlative)