iterative

[it-uh-rey-tiv, -er-uh-tiv]

adjective

1. repeating; making repetition; repetitious.

2. relating to or noting a development strategy that involves a cyclical process of refining or tweaking the latest version or iteration of a product, process, or idea to make a subsequent version: The new restaurant finalized their menu after a year of diner feedback and iterative improvements.

   Website design is highly iterative.

   The new restaurant finalized their menu after a year of diner feedback and iterative improvements.

3. Grammar.,  frequentative.

ˈiterative

/ ˈɪtərətɪv /

adjective

1. repetitious or frequent

2. maths logic another word for recursive See recursive

3. grammar another word for frequentative

Other Word Forms

• iteratively adverb
• iterativeness noun
• uniterative adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of iterative¹

First recorded in 1450–1500; from Late Latin iterātīvum (verbum) “frequentative (verb).” See iterate, -ive

Example Sentences

The iterative nature of war in Ukraine also demands more ability to switch buying strategies as the tech evolves.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

While this "iterative" process is part of the normal forecasting round that precedes a Budget, on Monday of this week the chancellor suggested very strongly that tax rates would go up in a BBC interview.

Read more on BBC

The lean startup method is an “approach emphasizing rapid experimentation, iterative development, and data-driven decision making.”

Read more on MarketWatch

The pitch from them both amounted to arguing that they are assembling what they see as a careful set of thoughtful, workable, iterative steps forward on asylum policy.

Read more on BBC

Our response must be adaptive, experimental and iterative: a continuous process of design evolution, shaped by trial and error, much like nature itself.

Read more on Los Angeles Times