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

He said Japan’s famous ski resorts are becoming increasingly unaffordable, which he blamed on an influx of tourists.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 30, 2026

Efforts by local and international rescue teams to pull survivors from the rubble grew increasingly desperate in Venezuela four days after two powerful earthquakes shook the northern state of La Guaira.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 30, 2026

People have increasingly been turning to AI for emotional support.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 30, 2026

Sarah Coles, head of personal finance at UK investment platform AJ Bell, warns that making the Fire philosophy work is increasingly challenging as most people simply cannot afford it.

From BBC • Jun. 29, 2026

The symptoms had become increasingly apparent over time: fits, erratic mood swings, worsening amnesia.

From "Beasts of Prey" by Ayana Gray

Related Words

• more
• more and more
• progressively