linear
adj.adj. following a straight line or moving forward in a clear, step-by-step way. You use this to describe things like stories or math problems that go from start to finish without jumping around.
adj. arranged in or extending along a straight or nearly straight line; progressing from one stage to another in a single series of steps. Often used to describe sequential logic or mathematical relationships where the output is directly proportional to the input.
The book follows a linear story from beginning to end.
The curriculum is designed as a linear progression where each lesson builds directly on the previous one.
While the director's earlier films utilized a fragmented, non-linear structure, his latest work adopts a strictly chronological approach to the protagonist's life.
Borrowed from Latin līneāris, from līnea (“line”) + -āris (adjectival suffix), equivalent to line + -ar. Doublet of lineal.
Typically placed before the noun it modifies; frequently contrasted with 'non-linear' or 'circular' in academic contexts.