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

His achievements have helped struggling Californians live in an increasingly unaffordable state and given him bona fides to tout to voters if he launches a bid for the White House.

From Los Angeles Times • May 3, 2026

Since further federal regulation is increasingly unlikely after that 2017 Vizio-FTC settlement, more states are likely to take up local laws.

From Slate • May 3, 2026

As global fuel markets reel from the Middle East war, motorists in Nepal are increasingly turning to electric vehicles, with high demand putting a strain on dealerships.

From Barron's • May 3, 2026

A vital component of Renee Slegers' increasingly effective Arsenal machine, Blackstenius does her job without fuss, but usually with maximum impact.

From BBC • May 2, 2026

In English, apart from a couple of occurrences in a text of 1589, ‘scientific’ does not appear until 1637, after which date it becomes increasingly common.

From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton

Related Words

• more
• more and more
• progressively