Repetitive means happening again and again in the same way, often to the point of becoming dull or tiresome. A song with a repetitive melody might use the same few notes over and over. Assembly line work is repetitive because workers perform the same task hundreds of times each day. Your teacher might find it repetitive to explain the same math concept for the fifth time to students who weren’t listening.

The word often carries a slightly negative feeling, suggesting that something has become boring or monotonous through too much repetition. If you practice piano scales, the exercise is repetitive by design, but that repetition builds skill. However, if someone describes your writing as repetitive, they’re saying you’ve used the same words or ideas too many times and should vary your approach.

Think of the difference between practicing your free throws ten times (helpful repetition) versus shooting the same shot for three hours straight until your arms are sore and your mind is numb (repetitive and exhausting). The word captures that sense of “too much of the same thing.”