repetitious
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of repetitious
1665–75; < Latin repetīt ( us ) (past participle of repetere to repeat ) + -ious
Explanation
Something repetitious gets said or done over and over again in a similar way. If you play your favorite song on repeat during your party, your guests are likely to demand to hear something less repetitious. The adjective repetitious is another way to say repetitive, and both words (along with repeat) share the Latin root repetere, "do or say again." A repetitious poem repeats the same words so many times that it becomes a little dull, and a repetitious argument is more likely to irritate your parents than convince them.
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.
Using Peter Shaffer’s play as its basis, this five-part miniseries starring Will Sharpe and Paul Bettany can be repetitious but there is still much to like.
From Los Angeles Times • May 15, 2026
As germane and revealing as her discussions of deaf history and political inequality are, however, they can become repetitious and sometimes strident.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 8, 2026
Most driving data is repetitious and useless, and exception data without lidar isn’t useful either.
From MarketWatch • Jan. 20, 2026
"What babies need and what they learn from the best are simple, slow, repetitious, face-to-face interactions."
From BBC • Dec. 31, 2025
The letter itself was virtually endless in length, overwritten, teaching, repetitious, opinionated, remonstrative, condescending, embarrassing—and filled, to a surfeit, with affection.
From "Franny and Zooey" by J. D. Salinger
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.
