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Is there a word to describe tasks that need to "run one after the other"? My current choice is sequentially, but feel there is a better word.

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OneLook Reverse Dictionary: in succession; seriatim; in sequence; sequentially; consecutively; in turn; following each other... – Andrew Leach Jan 25 at 11:34
Thanks, I think "in succession" or "consecutively" are more suitable, I went with "in succession". The OneLook Reverse Dictionary looks like a great resource - thanks for the tip. – xylar Jan 25 at 11:44

closed as general reference by Andrew Leach, Robusto, Kristina Lopez, JLG, Hellion Jan 25 at 15:13

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1 Answer

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Consecutively is for one after the other (in contrast concurrently for all at the same time).

The sequentially you thought of suggests a particular order. So if you have three things (processes, procedures, whatever) A, B & C and they must happen in order A, B, C (or even if A, B, C and B, A, C are both allowed, but not C, A, B) then sequentially would actually be the better word. If you don't care whether it's B, C, A, or any other order - or if there's no meaningful way to even distinguish between the different things - then consecutively would be better.

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