Definition of cumulativenext
as in accumulative
produced by a series of additions of identical or similar things a cumulative weight gain of 20 pounds over the course of a year

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of cumulative The result is cumulative: year after year, newer communities feel city investment first and fastest. Francisco Tamayo, San Diego Union-Tribune, 8 May 2026 Quiet and cumulative, these individual decisions point to a broader structural mismatch between a population that is aging rapidly and a housing market that has not kept pace. Lisa Clark, Hartford Courant, 7 May 2026 Without major changes, projections show MPS could face a cumulative deficit of $420 million over the next five years due to rising costs, declining enrollment and state funding limits. Kayla Huynh, jsonline.com, 6 May 2026 Tariffs, export controls, and strategic decoupling are raising costs in ways that are both direct and cumulative. Robert Cropf, Twin Cities, 6 May 2026 See All Example Sentences for cumulative
Recent Examples of Synonyms for cumulative
Adjective
  • The accumulative stress in that area.
    Ira Winderman, Sun Sentinel, 26 Feb. 2026
  • Szalay is an accumulative writer.
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 8 Jan. 2026
Adjective
  • To address the issue, the team created an additive design strategy based on hard-soft acid-base (HSAB) theory, which predicts how acids and bases interact.
    Georgina Jedikovska, Interesting Engineering, 7 May 2026
  • Maxine used both additive and subtractive painting processes to build textured canvases.
    Emma Allen, New Yorker, 13 Apr. 2026
Adjective
  • Some draftees have an immediate impact—this year’s Super Bowl champions, the Seattle Seahawks, started two key players who were drafted last spring—but the process is mainly a means of incremental, long-term improvement.
    Dan Greene, New Yorker, 18 May 2026
  • While Silicon Valley chases incremental benchmark improvements, industrial leaders are working to earn their customers’ trust, shift by shift, through validated deployments that deliver concrete benefits.
    Chris Turlica, Forbes.com, 18 May 2026
Adjective
  • There was not a gradual build to this moment, allowing Rai to adjust over time to a changing reality.
    Gabby Herzig, New York Times, 18 May 2026
  • The study authors argue that humans became strongly right-handed through a gradual evolutionary process tied to bipedalism and brain expansion rather than a single genetic switch.
    Rupendra Brahambhatt, Interesting Engineering, 16 May 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Cumulative.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cumulative. Accessed 22 May. 2026.

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