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accretionary

  • a variation of accretive.
    accretive
    adjective
    increasing by natural growth or gradual addition.
  • a word derived from accretion.
    accretion
    noun
    an increase by natural growth or by gradual external addition; growth in size or extent.

Example Sentences

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This feature is called the accretionary wedge, mélange, or accretionary prism.

From Textbooks Jan. 1, 2017

The accretionary wedge and the forearc sediments were thrust northward onto Tibet.

From Scientific American Apr. 27, 2015

I know we’re in for volcanoes and earthquakes and some really wild metamorphism, accretionary wedges and the whole shebang. 

From Scientific American Mar. 20, 2014

The up-dip limit of the forearc is an active accretionary prism that extends about 50 km landward of the trench.

From Science Magazine Jun. 16, 2011

But Newbery also made another discovery which still further establishes the probability of the accretionary growth of gold in drifts.

From Getting Gold: a practical treatise for prospectors, miners and students by J. C. F. (Joseph Colin Frances) Johnson