successive

[suh k-ses-iv]

See more synonyms for successive on Thesaurus.com

adjective

following in order or in uninterrupted sequence; consecutive: three successive days.
following another in a regular sequence: the second successive day.
characterized by or involving succession.

Origin of successive

1400–50; late Middle English < Medieval Latin successīvus, equivalent to success(us), past participle of succēdere to succeed + -īvus -ive

Related formssuc·ces·sive·ly, adverbsuc·ces·sive·ness, nounnon·suc·ces·sive, adjectivenon·suc·ces·sive·ly, adverbnon·suc·ces·sive·ness, nounun·suc·ces·sive, adjectiveun·suc·ces·sive·ly, adverbun·suc·ces·sive·ness, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for successive

consecutive, ensuing, subsequent, succeeding, next, sequential, serial, sequent, successional, alternating, rotating, seriate, succedent

Examples from the Web for successive

Contemporary Examples of successive

After the three others were killed in successive Israeli operations in the mid-1990s, Zeif took command.
A Who’s Who of Iran’s Favorite Palestinian Terrorists
IranWire
August 13, 2014
Laypeople tend to regard two successive quarters of negative growth as a recession.
The U.S. Economy Had a Hiccup, Not a Heart Attack, This Year
Daniel Gross
May 29, 2014
The West has seen what Putin has done with Russia during his successive terms in office.
El-Sisi Is The Putin Of The Nile
Jamie Dettmer
February 22, 2014
Perhaps hotels will offer package deals through which visitors can visit all the talk-shows on three successive nights.
Can Jimmy Fallon Be Himself on ‘The Tonight Show’?
Tom Shales
February 17, 2014
And it comes on the heels of two successive years of reduced deficits.
America is Not the Next Greece
Daniel Gross
October 31, 2013

Historical Examples of successive

He was five successive years the representative of Thomaston.
Biographical Sketches
Nathaniel Hawthorne
In 1840, he was chosen president, and held the office for eight successive years.
The Bay State Monthly, Vol. 1, Issue 1.
Various
That is a mystery; but it may be supposed to take place by successive stages.
Initiation into Philosophy
Emile Faguet
No rigid line can be drawn between the successive stages of growth.
The Truth About Woman
C. Gasquoine Hartley
The story of Bluebeard is probably based on the successive crimes of a sadic.
The Sexual Question
August Forel

British Dictionary definitions for successive

successive

adjective

following another without interruption
of or involving successiona successive process

Derived Formssuccessively, adverbsuccessiveness, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for successive

adj.

early 15c., from Medieval Latin successivus, from success-, stem of succedere (see succeed). Related: Successively.