cumulative

adjective

ˈkyü-myə-lə-tiv How to pronounce cumulative (audio)
Definition of cumulativenext
as in accumulative
produced by a series of additions of identical or similar things a cumulative weight gain of 20 pounds over the course of a year

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of cumulative The second is to treat any one metric, whether fleet size, cumulative miles, or a funding valuation, as sufficient evidence of scale on its own. — Interesting Engineering, 30 Sep. 2026 His campaign committee was formed before Aquino’s current campaign committee, making the candidates’ cumulative totals an imperfect comparison. — Haley Parsley, Sacbee.com, 29 Sep. 2026 Its stock price has plummeted over 50% in cumulative losses since touching record highs in 2015. — CNBC, 25 Sep. 2026 Doughty and his colleagues base their argument on how much cumulative photosynthesis can hypothetically occur on exoplanets with more hostile conditions. — Andrew Paul, Popular Science, 23 Sep. 2026 See All Example Sentences for cumulative
Recent Examples of Synonyms for cumulative
  1. accumulative
  2. additive
  3. incremental
  4. gradual
Adjective
  • The choice of Miami Beach as the festival’s long-term home is less accidental than accumulative.
    — Desjah Altvater, Forbes.com, 18 June 2026
  • According to a new paper, published in the Journal of Geophysical Research, accumulative stresses in the Earth’s crust in California are higher today than at any point over the last 1,000 years, raising concerns over the potential for a massive rupture in the Los Angeles region.
    — Victor Tangermann, Futurism, 10 June 2026
Definition of accumulative
Adjective
  • The team stated that commercial success will depend on precisely balancing additive placement, pore structure, and chemical concentration.
    — Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 30 Sep. 2026
  • Grail says its Galleri test should be additive to standardized cancer screenings, like colonoscopies and mammograms, and not be used as a replacement.
    — Yuki Noguchi, NPR, 23 Sep. 2026
Definition of additive
Adjective
  • Some 2025 launches failed to recruit enough new consumers or generate enough incremental demand.
    — Bilin Lin, Fortune, 4 Oct. 2026
  • Mattel that year generated an incremental $90 million in operating profit, so that’s like 13% growth on a consolidated basis with the ‘Barbie’ movie.
    — Sarah Whitten, CNBC, 3 Oct. 2026
Definition of incremental
Adjective
  • Is this the gradual appearance of a real person where there was once simply a comedic archetype?
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 2 Oct. 2026
  • What Could Be Next The most likely path for funnel-neck outerwear is not a crash after fall but a gradual settling into classic status, with a few specific inflection points worth watching.
    — Lauren Schuster, Miami Herald, 2 Oct. 2026
Definition of gradual

Browse Nearby Words

cumulations
cumulative
cumulativeness
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Cumulative.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cumulative. Accessed 9 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

The Exceptions of '-s' and '-es' Plurals

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

7 Words for Bad Endings and Rough Situations

The Words of the Week - Oct. 9

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)
See More

Popular

See More

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
a cup of tea and a golf ball on tee side by side
Quiz: Sounds Like... Choose the word that sounds like it fits the clue...
See All