What does "successive" mean?

1. (following in order) happening one after another in a series. 2. (hereditary) relating to how titles or property pass from one person to the next in a family. 3. (grammatical aspect) a special way of describing an action that must finish before another one starts.

How do you use "successive"?

Usually placed before the noun it modifies.

successive

adj.

US //səkˈsɛsɪv// UK //səksˈɛsɪv// suc·ces·sive

1 following in order (adj.)
B2 Upper Intermediate Academic

happening one after another in a series.

following in an uninterrupted sequence or order.

Example

The team won three successive games and moved to the top of the league.

Example

The region suffered through four successive years of drought, leading to a total collapse of the local agricultural economy.

Usage

Usually placed before the noun it modifies.
- simultaneous
- non consecutive
2 hereditary (adj.)
C1 Advanced Formal Technical Law

relating to how titles or property pass from one person to the next in a family.

relating to a succession, particularly regarding the inheritance of a title, office, or property.

Example

The crown was passed down through successive generations of the royal family.

Example

The legal dispute centered on whether the successive heirs had a legitimate claim to the estate under the original 18th-century deed.
- hereditary
- lineal

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3 grammatical aspect (adj.)
C2 Proficiency Technical Academic Science

a special way of describing an action that must finish before another one starts.

relating to a grammatical aspect where the completion of one action is a necessary premise for the main action.

Example

The professor explained how the successive aspect works in certain languages.

Example

In linguistic typology, the successive aspect is often analyzed in relation to perfective markers that emphasize the chronological ordering of events.

Origin

From Latin succedere (“to succeed in”).

Word family

Adjectivesuccessive
Adverbsuccessively