Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

recursive

/ɹɪˈkɜː(ɹ)sɪv/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.90 in modern English

Syllables
re-cur-sive
IPA
/ɹɪˈkɜː(ɹ)sɪv/
14
Scrabble Score
9
Letters
3
Syllables
7
Unique Chars

Meaning

adj

Drawing upon, invoking, or referring back to itself.

adj

Having to do with an object (typically a function or formula) which is defined in terms of the object itself.

adj

Having to do with an algorithm, program, subroutine, procedure, function, or other block of code that calls itself.

adj

Having to do with a function which can be computed by a theoretical model of a computer in a finite amount of time.

adj

Having to do with a set whose characteristic function is recursive (sense 4).

Example Sentences

Etymology

Learned borrowing from New Latin recursīvus. Equivalent to recurse + -ive.

Word Breakdown

Inflected Forms

more recursive (comparative) most recursive (superlative)

Derived Forms

nonrecursive recursion recursively recursiveness recursivity subrecursive superrecursive transrecursive

Phrases

co-recursive filtered-popping recursive transition network left-recursive recursive acronym recursive compound word recursive conundrum recursive definition recursive descent

Frequently Paired Words

circular fractal iterative

Synonyms

self-referential

Antonyms

non-recursive

Rhymes With

subversive coercive discursive dispersive immersive cursive roman cursive tail recursive primitive recursive aversive inversive abstersive

Questions

How do you pronounce recursive?
The recorded pronunciation is /ɹɪˈkɜː(ɹ)sɪv/.
What does recursive mean?
Drawing upon, invoking, or referring back to itself.
Where does recursive come from?
Learned borrowing from New Latin recursīvus. Equivalent to recurse + -ive.

How to pronounce recursive

  1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “recursive”.
  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ɹɪˈkɜː(ɹ)sɪv/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
  3. Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “recursive”.
  4. Repeat and practice — Say “recursive” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.