cumulative
adjective
cu·mu·la·tive
| \ ˈkyü-myə-lə-tiv
, -ˌlā-\
, -ˌlā-\
Definition of cumulative
1a
: increasing by successive additions
b
: made up of accumulated parts
2
: tending to prove the same point
cumulative evidence
3a
: taking effect upon completion of another penal sentence
a cumulative sentence
b
: increasing in severity with repetition of the offense
cumulative penalty
4
: formed by the addition of new material of the same kind
a cumulative book index
5
: summing or integrating overall data or values of a random variable less than or less than or equal to a specified value
cumulative normal distribution cumulative frequency distribution
6 finance
a
: to be added if not paid when normally due to the next payment or a future payment
cumulative preferred dividends cumulative interest
b
of stock
: bearing such a dividend
cumulative preferred stock
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Synonyms for cumulative
Synonyms
accretive, accumulative, additive, conglomerative, incremental
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Examples of cumulative in a Sentence
… Game Boy, which first came out in 1989 as a monochrome handheld toy, has become the most successful of all of the systems, reaching cumulative sales of 110 million units to date …
— N'gai Croal, Newsweek, 28 May 2001
They began looking at the cumulative effect of stress and realized that, while there might have been an incident that finally triggered the madness, a series of previous events had lowered the soldier's emotional resistance.
— Michael Fleming and Roger Manvell, Psychology Today, July 1987
Insist on yourself; never imitate. Your own gift you can present every moment with the cumulative force of a whole life's cultivation; but of the adopted talent of another, you have only an extemporaneous, half possession.
— Ralph Waldo Emerson, "Self-Reliance,"
in Essays, 1841
a cumulative weight gain of 20 pounds over the course of a year
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Recent Examples on the Web
The cumulative clearance rate — all homicides solved in a year, including killings that occurred in previous years—is down to 38 percent compared to 51.5 percent last year. — Baltimore Sun Staff, baltimoresun.com, "Recent violence in Baltimore highlights some disturbing trends. Here’s a look at them.," 4 Sep. 2019 In the economy lots, the daily rate was $13 prior to last year’s rate change, so the latest increase marks a cumulative hike of 31 percent in less than two years. — Jon Murray, The Denver Post, "Denver airport raising some parking rates starting Sept. 1," 30 Aug. 2019 The Western world’s cumulative appeasement of Chinese buccaneerism since 1980 is no longer viable in 2019. — Victor Davis Hanson, National Review, "Trump — or What, Exactly?," 27 Aug. 2019 Indeed, on a cumulative basis, the other years are so positive that the total surplus would be nearly $9.9 trillion. — Scott Burns, Dallas News, "Burns: It may be time to eat the rich," 18 Aug. 2019 By 2015, global plastic production had ballooned to 381 million tons — a cumulative amount of 7.82 billion tons produced over 65 years. — NBC News, "Bali fights back as tons of floating plastic threaten to spoil once-pristine paradise," 25 Aug. 2019 Many of them seem trivial—prescribing, say, the precise width of clinic corridors—but their cumulative effect has been devastating. — The Economist, "What explains Donald Trump’s war on late-term abortions?," 22 Aug. 2019 The cumulative changes slowed Facebook traffic to media outlets across the publishing industry. — Justin Bank, New York Times, "Big Tech, a Conservative Provocateur and the Fight Over Disinformation," 21 Aug. 2019 No back or team has a more favorable fantasy strength of schedule than Ingram and the Ravens backfield based on the cumulative fantasy points allowed in 2018 of their opponents this year. — Kevin Hanson, SI.com, "Fantasy Football: AFC North Divisional Preview; Sleepers, Breakouts, More," 19 Aug. 2019These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'cumulative.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for cumulative
cumulative
adjective
English Language Learners Definition of cumulative
: increasing or becoming better or worse over time through a series of additions
: including or adding together all of the things that came before
See the full definition for cumulative in the English Language Learners Dictionary
cumulative
adjective
cu·mu·la·tive
| \ ˈkyü-myə-lə-tiv
, -ˌlā-\
, -ˌlā-\
Kids Definition of cumulative
: increasing (as in force, strength, amount, or importance) over time
Rainy weather had a cumulative effect on the crops.
cumulative
adjective
cu·mu·la·tive
| \ ˈkyü-myə-lət-iv, -ˌlāt-
\
\
Medical Definition of cumulative
: increasing in effect by successive doses (as of a drug or poison)
cumulative poisoning by organochlorine pesticides— Jack Clincy
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