multiplicative

[ muhl-tuh-pli-key-tiv, muhl-tuh-plik-uh- ]

adjective

1. tending to multiply or increase, or having the power to multiply:

   Smoking and asbestos exposure have a multiplicative effect on your risk of getting lung cancer.

2. Mathematics of or relating to multiplication.
3. relating to or noting a word or affix that indicates multiplication, as triple, threefold, or tri-.

multiplicative

/ ˈmʌltɪplɪˌkeɪtɪv; ˌmʌltɪˈplɪkətɪv /

adjective

1. tending or able to multiply
2. maths involving multiplication

Derived Forms

• ˈmultipliˌcatively, adverb

Other Words From

• mul·ti·pli·ca·tive·ly adverb
• non·mul·ti·pli·ca·tive adjective
• non·mul·ti·pli·ca·tive·ly adverb
• un·mul·ti·pli·ca·tive adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of multiplicative¹

First recorded in 1645–55; from Medieval Latin multiplicātīvus; multiplicate, -ive

Example Sentences

Those two changes have helped the Warriors do a much better job of maximizing the value of every possession — which has had a multiplicative effect because their shooting has also been so extremely good.

From FiveThirtyEight

And similarly a perspective is a member of the multiplicative class of the things which appear in it.

From Project Gutenberg