recursive

adjective

re·​cur·​sive ri-ˈkər-siv 

1

: of, relating to, or involving recursion

a recursive function in a computer program

2

: of, relating to, or constituting a procedure that can repeat itself indefinitely

a recursive rule in a grammar

recursively adverb

recursiveness noun

Examples of recursive in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Companies should prioritize building safe AI models instead of systems that can automatically improve themselves, a function known as recursive self-improvement, Zuckerberg wrote. — ABC News, 16 Sep. 2026

The comments come days after warnings from researchers at AI labs OpenAI and Anthropic of the rapid advancement of the technology known as recursive self-improvement, or RSI. — Elsa Ohlen, CNBC, 16 Sep. 2026

That coalition does not need to decide whether a model is approaching recursive self-improvement. — Shlomit Wagman, Fortune, 15 Sep. 2026

Amodei warned in his essay that AI was rapidly improving itself, through a process known as recursive self-improvement, which threatened to outpace humans’ ability to control it. — Rebecca Ellis, Los Angeles Times, 13 Sep. 2026

Word History

Etymology

earlier, "recurring repeatedly," from Latin recursus, past participle of recurrere "to run back, run in the opposite direction, return" + -ive; in given senses as translation of German rekurrent or rekursiv — more at recur

First Known Use

1934, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for recursive

• aversive
• coercive
• discursive
• dispersive
• immersive
• subversive
• cursive