increasingly

American  

[in-kree-sing-lee] / ɪnˈkri sɪŋ li /

adverb

1. to an ever greater degree; more and more: Marketers are increasingly using video to create meaningful emotional connections with their consumers.

   He became increasingly nervous and overwrought and began to suffer bouts of depression.

   Marketers are increasingly using video to create meaningful emotional connections with their consumers.

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Etymology

Origin of increasingly

increasing ( def. ) + -ly

Explanation

This adverb applies to anything that is happening more often, in greater numbers, or with greater intensity. An increasingly hot summer keeps getting hotter. To increase something is to add to it numerically, like increasing the size of your family by having a baby. Anything that happens increasingly is growing in some way. An increasingly depressed person keeps getting sadder. An increasingly sick patient keeps getting worse. An increasingly corrupt government is getting less and less honest. When you see this word, you know something is intensifying.

Example Sentences

Employers increasingly emphasize demonstrated competencies, project-based experience and practical problem-solving abilities.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 5, 2026

“Sentiment won’t shift overnight, but the relative risk/reward in an increasingly crowded semis opportunity set looks attractive.”

From Barron's • Jun. 5, 2026

Part of the US investing directing in AI companies, however, would be to improve Americans' views of the technology, which have grown increasingly negative.

From BBC • Jun. 5, 2026

Big Tech may increasingly sell stock to bankroll $820 billion AI boom.

From MarketWatch • Jun. 5, 2026

Bergs and broken floes were jumbled together between increasingly large leads of open water.

From "Shipwreck at the Bottom of the World" by Jennifer Armstrong

Related Words

• more
• more and more
• progressively