accretiveadj.

1661 J. Glanvill Vanity of Dogmatizing ix. 81 We can no more discern their accretive Motion, then we can their most hidden cause.

1784 F. O'Gallagher Ess. First Princ. Nature: Pt. I iv. 172 Accretive substances are moulded and assimilated, during the growth of the body, to its form and nature.

1796 S. Perry Hist. Sketch French Revol. II. 403 This concession on the part of the majority gave the minority new hopes in its accretive strength.

1852 Tait's Edinb. Mag. 16 667 The constitution of the mind is not accretive, but fixed and unalterable.

1889 E. Carpenter Civilisation 137 If we take the external view of Variation..modification or race-growth appears as an unconscious or accretive process.

1912 O. Elton Surv. Eng. Lit. I. 249 He likes a complex rather than a merely coordinate or accretive structure.

1996 D. F. Wallace Supposedly Fun Thing I'll never do Again (1997) 297 But there is also, I think, a creeping guilt here, a deep accretive uneasiness, a discomfort that presents—at least in my own case—as a weird kind of pampering-paranoia.

1997 Cincinnati Enquirer 23 Nov. i. 6/5 We're in this to acquire this company on a positive and accretive basis for our shareholders.