supralinear

1 9.9

Growing by a larger amount than the change that causes it

adjective
/ˌsuːprəˈlɪniər/

Specialized

: supralineal

When the input doubled, the system's output grew in a supralinear fashion, exceeding expectations.

Examples

The output showed a supralinear relationship to the input.
In this experiment, we observed supralinear growth in response to stimuli.
The scientist observed a supralinear response in the chemical reaction as the temperature increased.
A supralinear relationship was found between exercise intensity and heart rate in the study.
The scientist observed a supralinear response in the chemical reaction as the temperature increased, indicating a strong correlation between heat and reaction rate.
When the input was doubled, the system's output showed a supralinear increase, demonstrating its efficiency in processing the data.
In the experiment, we noticed a supralinear growth pattern of plants when exposed to higher levels of sunlight, suggesting an enhanced photosynthetic response.

Antonyms

sublinear

Specialized

1 8.8

Growing more slowly than a straight line on a graph

How Nonlinear

exponential

Specialized

26 6.8

supralinear

Specialized

1 9.9

sublinear

Specialized

1 8.8

linear

Specialized

1 6.0

Surface Forms

supralinear positive

Morphology

supralinear = linear (semi-transparent) = supra + linear

'supra-' straightforwardly means 'above/beyond' when attached to 'linear', but the prefix is Latinate and relatively technical and may be unfamiliar to B1 learners.

Etymology

Supralinear comes from the prefix supra- meaning 'above' and linear from line meaning 'a straight line'. So think 'above the line': something supralinear grows faster than a straight line and increases more than you would expect when the input goes up.