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Repetitive

Characterized by repeating the same actions, words, or ideas, often in a tedious or monotonous way.

adjective

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Imagine This

Imagine a lecture hall where the teacher keeps repeating the same example, and each sentence echoes the last, like a looping recording.

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Sounds Like

ri-PET-i-tiv

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Looks Like

resembles the root idea of 'repeat' (contains the concept of repetition)

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Remember This

Etymology links to Latin repetere meaning 'to repeat'; note the distinction between repetitive (ongoing repetition) and redundant (unnecessary duplication).

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Other Forms

repetitionnoun

repetitivenessnoun

repetitivelyadverb

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Connect With

repeat, monotony, redundancy, recurrence, iteration

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Note

Be careful not to confuse with 'repeatable' (able to be repeated) or 'repetitious' (also meaning repetitive); use repetitive to describe ongoing repetition that often feels tedious.

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Study Deeper

Examples

The lecturer's repetitive explanations bored the students.
The chorus relies on a repetitive refrain that recurs throughout the song.

Synonyms

monotonoustediousredundantrecurrentiterative

Antonyms

varieddiverseoriginal

Etymology

From Latin repetitivus, from repetere 'to repeat' (re- = again + -petere = to seek/go toward); entered English via French and developed into the modern form.

Mnemonic

REPEAT inside: The word repetitive signals repetition; picture a broken record stuck on a loop repeating the same line.

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Legacy

noun

Something handed down from an ancestor or from the past, such as money or property left in a will, or an enduring cultural, personal, or societal influence.