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.
Over successive meetings, Kushner’s drive and ambition became evident.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 15, 2026
The effect would have been the opposite in prior years, rendering two successive decreases in citywide homelessness marginally less impressive.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 11, 2026
Europe is the world's fastest-warming continent and the first two months of summer have been marked by successive heatwaves, scorching temperatures and bone-dry conditions.
From Barron's ● Aug. 10, 2026
Can anyone stop Luis Enrique's side from winning a third successive Champions League trophy?
From BBC ● Aug. 9, 2026
As White examined probate records for many of the murder victims, it was evident that with each successive death, more and more headrights were being directed into the hands of one person—Mollie Burkhart.
From "Killers of the Flower Moon" by David Grann
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.
