exponentially

American  

[ek-spoh-nen-shuh-lee, ‐spuh‐] / ˌɛk spoʊˈnɛn ʃə li, ‐spə‐ /

adverb

1. at a steady, rapid rate.

   The cost of a college education has increased exponentially over the last 30 years.

2. Mathematics. at a continuous rate of growth or decay that can be calculated using the constant e, according to the rules of raising e to the power of a positive or negative exponent.

   Any population growing exponentially must, sooner or later, encounter shortages of resources.

   The measurable rate at which a radioactive nuclide’s atoms decay exponentially is the basis of radiometric dating.

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Other Word Forms

• nonexponentially adverb

Etymology

Origin of exponentially

exponential ( def. ) + -ly

Example Sentences

Colonists, Mr. Shalev writes, sought “a close knowledge of and relationship with the sky—exponentially closer than that of later generations.”

From The Wall Street Journal

So the list of box sets and reissues has grown exponentially each year.

From Salon

With the 1793 invention of the cotton gin—which separated cotton fibers from its seeds with a previously undreamed-of efficiency—America’s plantation economy expanded exponentially and so did its use of slave labor.

From The Wall Street Journal

The town increased housing, attracted Fortune 500 employers, exponentially improved the number of students going to college and leveraged developers to improve schools, resources for senior citizens, and police and fire services.

From Los Angeles Times

It’s exponentially more muscular than Woo, and about two inches taller.

From Literature