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

Much of the region, however, is increasingly preparing for a divorce with the U.S.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 16, 2026

The two companies are the dominant players in the theme-park industry, locked in an increasingly intense battle for Orlando following Comcast’s opening of Epic Universe in May 2025.

From Barron's • Apr. 15, 2026

It’s become increasingly difficult for CBS or other major networks to make money on a topical show when the majority of the audience, particularly younger viewers, watch snippets on YouTube.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 15, 2026

They included Theatre Royal Plymouth, which is quoted as saying "producing new work independently is increasingly challenging".

From BBC • Apr. 15, 2026

The most striking change in his personality was his volatility: good news triggered uncontained outbursts of joy, often extinguished only through increasingly acrobatic bouts of physical exercise, while bad news plunged him into inconsolable desolation.

From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee

Related Words

• more
• more and more
• progressively