exponential

English

Etymology

exponent +‎ -ial

Pronunciation

• (UK) enPR: ĕk-spō-nĕn'-chəl, IPA^(key): /ˌɛk.spəʊ.ˈnɛn.tʃəl/
• (US) enPR: ĕk-spō-nĕn'-chəl, IPA^(key): /ˌɛk.spoʊ.ˈnɛn.t͡ʃəl/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

Adjective

exponential

1. Relating to an exponent.
2. (Can we verify⁽⁺⁾ this sense?) (mathematics) Expressed in terms of a power of e.
3. (mathematics) Characterised by a rate of change that is proportional to the value of the varying quantity, or, equivalently, by a doubling or halving over successive fixed intervals of time or other parameter.

   exponential growth, exponential decay

   There were two deaths on Monday, four on Tuesday, and eight on Wednesday. The rate of increase seems exponential.

4. (Discuss⁽⁺⁾ this sense) (loosely) Characterised by a very rapid rate of change, especially increase.
   • 2013, Yvelyne Germain-McCarthy, Bringing the NCTM Standards to Life: Best Practices, High School, page 101:

     ... Students apply the definition of slope to various representations of growth functions to discover differences between exponential and constant rate of growth.

   • 2018 July 31, Alvin Carpio, “Is it time to automate politicians?”, in The Economist:

     Of course, one can creatively conjure up a host of things robot-politicians can do at exponential speed and scale, from shaking hands and kissing babies to handling the fundraising “robocalls” that frustrate American voters.

Usage notes

• In non-technical contexts, the term is sometimes used loosely to refer to any kind of very rapid change, especially increase. This usage is often discouraged unless the change in question is truly exponential; synonyms such as dramatic may be favored instead.

Antonyms

• nonexponential

Derived terms

• biexponential
• exponential decay
• exponential distribution
• exponential equation
• exponential function
• exponential generating function
• exponential growth
• exponentiality
• exponentialize
• exponentially
• exponential map
• exponential object
• exponential smoothing
• hyperexponential
• mono-exponential
• monoexponential
• multiexponential
• nonexponential
• preexponential
• pre-exponential
• subexponential
• superexponential
• triexponential

 

Translations

relating to an exponent

• Afrikaans: eksponensiaal
• Arabic: أُسِّيّ (ʔussiyy)
• Armenian: ցուցչային (cʻucʻčʻayin)
• Bulgarian: експоненциален (eksponencialen)
• Catalan: exponencial
• Czech: exponenciální
• Dutch: exponentieel (nl)
• Finnish: eksponentiaalinen (fi)
• German: exponentiell (de)
• Greek: εκθετικός (el) (ekthetikós)
• Italian: esponenziale (it)
• Japanese: 指数的
• Norwegian: eksponensiell
• Portuguese: exponencial (pt)
• Romanian: exponențial (ro)
• Russian: показа́тельный (ru) (pokazátelʹnyj), экспоненциа́льный (ru) (eksponenciálʹnyj)
• Tagalog: paulitin
• Turkish: üssel (tr), üstel (tr)

expressed in terms of a power of e

• Arabic: أُسِّيّ (ʔussiyy)
• Bulgarian: експоненциален (eksponencialen)
• Finnish: eksponentiaalinen (fi)
• French: exponentiel (fr)
• German: exponentiell (de)
• Greek: εκθετικός (el) (ekthetikós)
• Hebrew: מעריכי (ma'arichí), אקספוננציאלי (he) (eksponentziáli)
• Hungarian: exponenciális (hu)
• Italian: esponenziale (it)
• Japanese: 指数関数 (ja)
• Latin: expōnentiālis
• Polish: wykładniczy m
• Portuguese: exponencial (pt)
• Romanian: exponențial (ro)
• Russian: экспоненциа́льный (ru) (eksponenciálʹnyj)
• Tagalog: paulitin
• Turkish: üssel (tr), üstel (tr)

having a high or rapid rate of change

• Arabic: أُسِّيّ (ʔussiyy)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: please add this translation if you can

• Finnish: eksponentiaalinen (fi)
• German: exponentiell (de)
• Greek: εκθετικός (el) (ekthetikós)
• Hungarian: exponenciális (hu)
• Italian: esponenziale (it)
• Japanese: 指数関数的増大
• Portuguese: exponencial (pt)
• Romanian: exponențial (ro)
• Russian: экспоненциа́льный (ru) (eksponenciálʹnyj)
• Spanish: exponencial (es)
• Thai: please add this translation if you can
• Turkish: üssel (tr), üstel (tr)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• French: ^{(please verify)} exponentiel (fr)

Noun

exponential (plural exponentials)

1. (mathematics) Any function that has an exponent as an independent variable.

   Synonym: exponential function

References

• UCS - The World’s Population Hasn’t Grown Exponentially for at Least Half a Century
• “exponential”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.