increasingly

American

[in-kree-sing-lee] / ɪnˈkri sɪŋ li /

adverb

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.

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Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

But increasingly, the big money is in keeping the existing fleet alive.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 6, 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

Part of the US investing directing in AI companies, however, would be to improve Americans' views of the technology, which have grown increasingly negative.

From BBC • Jun. 5, 2026

The artificial-intelligence race has catapulted stocks to fresh highs this year and kept credit markets on fire — but bond investors are increasingly worrying about the people being left behind.

From MarketWatch • Jun. 5, 2026

Here he was, trying to figure out which stocks to pick, but the fate of the stocks depended increasingly on the bonds.

From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023