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

The studios over the decades tried to as well, albeit often with increasingly diminishing returns.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 10, 2026

In trying to disassociate herself from the scandal, Melania’s lack of acknowledgment of her husband’s ties to Epstein stands out as a confusing, but increasingly familiar, bit of cognitive dissonance.

From Slate • Apr. 10, 2026

Cooper made the case for geographical diversification, scenario weighting and becoming increasingly selective even within asset classes themselves.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 10, 2026

It’s also easy to think that Sandisk’s astonishing rally will also run out of steam soon—but it keeps defying that logic to look increasingly unstoppable.

From Barron's • Apr. 10, 2026

Their encounter felt increasingly dreamlike, though Koffi knew absolutely that it had happened.

From "Beasts of Prey" by Ayana Gray

Related Words

• more
• more and more
• progressively