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.

---

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

Now President Donald Trump's administration is increasingly weighing in, with Vance, a long-term critic of European migration policies, becoming the highest-ranking US official to comment on the killing.

From Barron's • Jun. 5, 2026

"However, he became increasingly concerned and ultimately pushed very hard for independent second opinions when these were not being secured locally."

From BBC • Jun. 5, 2026

Wedbush analyst Matt Bryson told MarketWatch that investors may increasingly be worried about shifting fundamentals in the memory market and the prospect of supply coming to outstrip demand.

From MarketWatch • Jun. 5, 2026

Moreover, in recent generations, foragers have been increasingly subject to the authority of modern states, which prevent the eruption of large-scale conflicts.

From "Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind" by Yuval Noah Harari

Related Words

• more
• more and more
• progressively