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

Social media giants are facing a global reckoning as governments increasingly worry about their impact on users' wellbeing.

From Barron's • May 6, 2026

Banks are increasingly courting high-end customers with credit cards and loans, benefiting from strong credit portfolios.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 6, 2026

Consumers and restaurants continue to avoid meat alternatives, and Beyond Meat’s outlook suggests things could get tougher from here, as the company tries to expand into new but increasingly competitive areas like protein beverages.

From MarketWatch • May 6, 2026

Discovery’s impending sale has rattled Hollywood — and the company’s balance sheet as the auction’s high costs increasingly come into focus.

From Los Angeles Times • May 6, 2026

Shackleton, in the Caird, grew increasingly anxious as the third boat fell behind.

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

Related Words

• more
• more and more
• progressively