increase
[verb in-krees; noun in-krees]
- to make greater, as in number, size, strength, or quality; augment; add to: to increase taxes.
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- to become greater, as in number, size, strength, or quality: Sales of automobiles increased last year.
- to multiply by propagation.
- to wax, as the moon.
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- growth or augmentation in numbers, size, strength, quality, etc.: the increase of crime.
- the act or process of increasing.
- that by which something is increased.
- the result of increasing.
- produce of the earth.
- product; profit; interest.
- Obsolete.
- multiplication by propagation; production of offspring.
- offspring; progeny.
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Origin of increase
Synonyms
See more synonyms for on Thesaurus.com1. expand, extend, prolong. Increase, augment, enlarge may all mean to make larger. To increase means to make greater, as in quantity, extent, degree: to increase someone's salary; to increase the velocity; to increase the ( degree of ) concentration. Enlarge means to make greater in size, extent, or range: to enlarge a building, a business, one's conceptions. Augment, a more formal word, means to make greater, especially by addition from the outside: to augment one's income ( by doing extra work ). 3. expand, grow, develop, swell. 6. enlargement, expansion.
Antonyms
1, 3. decrease.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for increased
Contemporary Examples
With all that said, representation of each of these respective communities has increased in the new Congress.
The need for increased community policing is more urgent than ever before.
All of these increased barriers then have a snowball effect.
U.S.-led coalition airstrikes recently have been increased on Raqqa.
Indeed, it's unclear what, if any, benefits the average Cuban will reap from increased diplomacy between the two countries.
Historical Examples
The expected conference is over: but my difficulties are increased.
Clarissa, Volume 1 (of 9)Samuel Richardson
This increased his astonishment, and did not lessen the gloom on his face.
Ester Ried Yet SpeakingIsabella Alden
On the contrary, it increased in some measure his respect for her as one of his own kind.
Within the LawMarvin Dana
Since then we have greatly diminished the iron and increased the copper.
He had increased also the amount of money that he periodically sent East.
KMary Roberts Rinehart
increase
- to make or become greater in size, degree, frequency, etc; grow or expand
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- the act of increasing; augmentation
- the amount by which something increases
- on the increase increasing, esp becoming more frequent
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Word Origin
C14: from Old French encreistre, from Latin incrēscere, from in- ² + crēscere to grow
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for increased
increase
n.
late 14c., "action of increasing; results of an increasing," from increase (v.).
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increase
v.
early 14c., "become greater in size or number; to cause to grow, enlarge," from Anglo-French encress-, Old French encreiss-, present participle stem of encreistre, from Latin increscere "to increase, to grow upon, grow over, swell, grow into," from in- "in" (see in- (2)) + crescere "to grow" (see crescent). Latin spelling restored 15c. Related: Increased; increasing.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper