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. See recursive
   maths logic another word for recursive See recursive
3. See frequentative
   grammar another word for frequentative

Derived Forms

• ˈiterativeness, noun
• ˈiteratively, adverb

Other Words From

• iter·ative·ly adverb
• iter·ative·ness noun
• un·iter·ative 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

Popularized by venture capitalist Marc Andreesen, PMF captures the notion that the ability to create and capture value from an innovation depends on iterative learning and experimentation to find a magic combination of customer and product.

From Quartz

The work of using energy to stop weapons is hard, iterative, and frequently ends in failure.

From Popular-Science

It’s a complex system and requires a process of iterative debugging.

From Washington Post

Sending dozens of iterative samples of a product around the country to all the people who need to approve it can be wasteful and time-consuming, Drexler said.

From Digiday

I’m just wondering about the iterative process ESO has found itself in and how much those updates were talked about early on.

From Washington Post

He prefers a conversation, and conversations aren't etched in stone, they're iterative.

From The Daily Beast

Studied verses undoubtedly—musical, and mournful, and iterative.

From Project Gutenberg

He knows his own mind, and hammers his doctrines out with a hard and iterative stroke that hits its mark.

From Project Gutenberg

The style is that of the pulpit, iterative, florid, and full of amplifications; but that was natural.

From Project Gutenberg