MEANING
Changing by a fixed proportion over equal intervals, so the amount of change depends on the current size.
Use it for
describing growth by a constant percentage; distinguishing proportional change from fixed numerical additions; correcting loose claims that any rapid increase is exponentialDistinguishes proportional growth or decay from a merely rapid or steadily increasing change. Academic functions: Change / Pattern / Trend.
Words that belong together
- exponential growth
- exponential decay
- an exponential function
On the page
A constant percentage increase produces an exponential pattern rather than a linear one.
The projected increase is rapid, but the paper does not establish that it is exponential.
Nearby words
Word forms
- Base
- exponential
Usage notes
Relational adjective, normally non-gradable in mathematical use. No ordinary comparative or superlative. Register: technical. Commonness: moderately common (qualitative editorial estimate, informed by dictionaries/corpus).
Practice this word in a sentenceYour margin notes
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