cumulative

[ kyoo-myuh-luh-tiv, -ley-tiv ]

adjective

1. increasing or growing by accumulation or successive additions:

   the cumulative effect of one rejection after another.

2. formed by or resulting from accumulation or the addition of successive parts or elements.
3. of or relating to interest or dividends that, if not paid when due, become a prior claim for payment in the future:

   cumulative preferred stocks.

cumulative

/ ˈkjuːmjʊlətɪv /

adjective

1. growing in quantity, strength, or effect by successive additions or gradual steps

   cumulative pollution

2. gained by or resulting from a gradual building up

   cumulative benefits

3. finance
   1. (of preference shares) entitling the holder to receive any arrears of dividend before any dividend is distributed to ordinary shareholders
   2. (of dividends or interest) intended to be accumulated if not paid when due
4. statistics
   1. (of a frequency) including all values of a variable either below or above a specified value
   2. (of error) tending to increase as the sample size is increased

Derived Forms

• ˈcumulatively, adverb
• ˈcumulativeness, noun

Other Words From

• cumu·la·tive·ly adverb
• cumu·la·tive·ness noun
• un·cumu·la·tive adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of cumulative¹

First recorded in 1595–1605; cumulate + -ive

Example Sentences

“Those small things, if you add them up in the cumulative effect ... that would add up to like a whole attitudinal change for me. People are going to give you more or offer many, many things to you. And I think when you become accustomed to all of that, that’s where greed follows.”

From Los Angeles Times

He said that the "cumulative effect of decisions over the last decade or so" had put the force in a "more and more precarious position", and some of its buildings would be "unusable" in a few years without further investment.

From BBC

But “gaslighting” also describes the cumulative effect and the purpose of the whole interaction.

From Salon

“Climate change is a cumulative problem. That means that with every year of delay, there is additional warming that we commit our planet to. Now is the time that we need to take action,” explains Prof Joeri Rogelj at Imperial College London.

From BBC

In the New York Times last month, two scholars who have written a cumulative five books on “democratic crisis and authoritarianism” issued a warning about America’s heretofore failure to chase Trump out of politics.

From Slate

Related Words

• aggregate
• increasing