# Markovian

/ˌmɑɹˈkoʊˌviən/ (US) · CEFR C1 · Adjective

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/markovian
Updated: 2026-09-28

## Definition

describing a process or system where the next state depends only on where it is right now, not on its past history.

For teachers: possessing the Markov property, whereby the conditional probability distribution of future states depends solely upon the present state and not on the preceding sequence of events.

## Examples

- A game of board dice is Markovian because your next turn depends only on your current square, not how you got there.
- Reinforcement learning algorithms typically assume a Markovian decision process where the agent's reward is conditioned solely on the immediate state and action.
- Non-Markovian dynamics introduce memory kernels into the master equation, significantly complicating the convergence guarantees of standard stochastic optimization algorithms.

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