decreasing

[dih-kree-sing]

adjective

1. becoming less or fewer; diminishing.

2. Mathematics.,  (of a function) having the property that for any two points in the domain such that one is larger than the other, the image of the larger point is less than or equal to the image of the smaller point; nonincreasing.

Other Word Forms

• decreasingly adverb
• undecreasing adjective
• undecreasingly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of decreasing¹

Middle English word dating back to 1350–1400; decrease, -ing ²

Example Sentences

Confronting increasing costs and decreasing state and federal funding, the University of California regents on Wednesday approved a tuition hike lauded by UC leaders but fiercely opposed by students.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

The researchers note that tobacco use is decreasing overall, yet the majority of cannabis users still report using tobacco as well.

Read more on Science Daily

This heat continues to grow while his ability to handle it is dramatically decreasing.

Read more on Salon

"The number of children needing a safe and forever family is increasing, while the number of people even willing to consider adoption is decreasing."

Read more on BBC

This was driven by increasing demand and decreasing costs to feed the chickens, as chicken sales reached the highest level in three years.

Read more on MarketWatch

Related Words

• collapsing www.thesaurus.com
• descending www.thesaurus.com
• lowering 
• plunging www.thesaurus.com
• sliding 
• tumbling 
• weakening www.thesaurus.com

When To Use

What does decreasing mean?

Decreasing is an adjective that means lessening or in decline—becoming less in number, amount, size, or in some other way.It comes from the continuous tense (-ing form) of the verb decrease, which means to lessen or become reduced in number, amount, size, or in some other way, as in Our profits will continue to decrease unless we cut costs.The word decreased can also be used as an adjective to describe things that have lessened or declined, as in a decreased appetite.Example: Decreasing sales have forced the company to cut costs.