successive
Americanadjective
-
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.
adjective
-
following another without interruption
-
of or involving succession
a successive process
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of successive
1400–50; late Middle English < Medieval Latin successīvus, equivalent to success ( us ), past participle of succēdere to succeed + -īvus -ive
Explanation
Successive is a word for things (or people) that follow each other in time. If three presidents in a row were over sixty, you could say, "Three successive presidents were over sixty." Successive is a word that comes up often when you're looking at the history of something. Back in the 1960s, eight successive Boston Celtics teams won the NBA championship. In school, if you do very well, you could get an A in three successive math classes. Even though successive has the word success in it, it's not necessarily a good thing: you could also miss ten successive free throws.
Vocabulary lists containing successive
Siddhartha
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The Joy Luck Club
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The Thing About Jellyfish
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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.
Israel and Hezbollah have fought in successive wars for more than four decades.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 30, 2026
This - uncapped - victory represented successive wins for the the first time since the 2023 World Cup but Wales know there is a lot to improve before the start of the Nations Championship.
From BBC • Jun. 27, 2026
Since Niyazov's death in 2006, successive presidents -- Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov and his son Serdar -- have kept the system in place, along with the cults of personality and grand architecture.
From Barron's • Jun. 23, 2026
Ipswich feel they are better equipped for the top flight this season than two years ago, after McKenna led them to successive promotions from League One.
From BBC • Jun. 23, 2026
I continued to take notes on Ross’s life, but each successive morning found him more reticent.
From "Black Boy" by Richard Wright
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.
