1. （过程或发展）线性的
    A linear process or development is one in which something changes or progresses straight from one stage to another, and has a starting point and an ending point.

linear

    e.g. Her novel subverts the conventions of linear narrative. It has no neat chronology and no tidy denouement.
           她的小说颠覆了线性叙事的传统，没有清晰的时间线索，也没有简单明了的结局。
    e.g. ...the linear view of time, with the idea that the past is moving into the present and the present into the future.
           线性的时间观，认为过去通向现在，现在通向未来。

2. 线构的；利用线条的
    A linear shape or form consists of straight lines.

    e.g. ...the sharp, linear designs of the Seventies and Eighties.
           七八十年代轮廓清晰的线条设计

3. （运动或力）成一直线的，沿直线的
    Linear movement or force occurs in a straight line rather than in a curve.