repetitive
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of repetitive
First recorded in 1830–40; from Latin repetīt(us) “attacked again” (past participle of repetere “to attack again, demand return of”; see repeat) + -ive
Explanation
Something that is repetitive involves doing the same thing over and over again. If you get bored running on a treadmill daily, you might try something less repetitive, like playing soccer outdoors. Anything you do repeatedly, especially when it's boring, can be described using the adjective repetitive. Jobs like loading and unloading a dishwasher, filing papers, and cleaning a bathroom can all feel repetitive when you have to do them regularly. A story your dad tells every time you have guests for dinner is repetitive, and a droning song that repeats the same chorus again and again is repetitive too.
Vocabulary lists containing repetitive
The Amber Spyglass
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"Journeys," Vocabulary from Lesson 3
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Boring
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Repetitive images, symbols, language, metaphors, and overall discourse affect what people take for granted, while also shaping how they perceive and interpret information.
From Salon • Sep. 5, 2023
Repetitive motions in the workplace can cause musculoskeletal disorders, like strains, sprains and tears.
From Seattle Times • Jul. 24, 2023
Repetitive TMS, or rTMS—used to treat depression—delivers repetitive magnetic pulses that create small electric currents in the brain by placing an electromagnetic coil against the head, inducing an electrical current in specific nerve cells.
From Slate • May 29, 2022
In Pursuit of Repetitive Beats has been announced as part of Coventry's City of Culture programme.
From BBC • Jan. 24, 2022
Repetitive, rhythmic, regular, austere, this was a conveyer belt of a chemical, the nylon of the biochemical world.
From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
