decreasing
Americanadjective
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becoming less or fewer; diminishing.
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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.
Usage
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.
Other Word Forms
- decreasingly adverb
- undecreasing adjective
- undecreasingly adverb
Etymology
Origin of decreasing
Middle English word dating back to 1350–1400; decrease, -ing 2
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
"Unless you strike very quickly and find that money… your chances of it being brought back into the legitimate system have to be decreasingly positive," he said.
From BBC
Supporters of the administration’s trade agenda say his team has already been leaning more on the Section 232 tariffs in recent months, decreasing the relative importance of the Ieepa duties.
Barr also said AI will create a higher neutral interest rate due to increased capital spending and decreasing household savings due to expectations of stronger real wage growth and higher lifetime earnings.
It had happened in the 1960s and 70s, when “racial fears, decreasing property values” and other factors triggered white flight.
From Los Angeles Times
Water samples taken by DC Water show E. coli bacteria decreasing sharply in the Potomac, but still elevated near the spill site.
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
