English Reference
Adverb

successively

adv. manner
C1 Advanced US /səkˈsɛsɪvɫi/ UK /səksˈɛsɪvli/ suc·ces·sive·ly

adv.one after another in a specific order. You use this when things happen in a sequence without any gaps.

adv.following in a sequence or uninterrupted order; consecutively.


SIMPLE

The team won three games successively.

CONTEXTUAL

The runner broke the world record three times successively during the summer season.

COMPLEX

The historian argued that the three successively elected leaders each contributed to the eventual collapse of the empire through increasingly isolationist policies.

Usage

Typically follows the verb or the object of the clause.

Pitfall
They arrived successively at 5:00.They arrived at 5:00, 5:10, and 5:20 respectively.

Learners often confuse 'successively' (one after another) with 'respectively' (in the order mentioned).

Samsung has successively shaved a few millimeters off every year, taking a leap last year with the Z Fold 7.

Ars Technica· 14 Aug 2026

From successive + -ly.

Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

This entry
Level C1 · Advanced
Frequency Occasional
Updated