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

Consumer debt has become one of the hottest categories in private credit, increasingly sought after by funds and investment arms of insurance companies on the hunt for high-yielding investments.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 19, 2026

When the two rates match, resonance occurs, and the planet's orbit becomes increasingly stretched.

From Science Daily • Apr. 19, 2026

Sea drones, including uncrewed surface vessels and submarines, are an increasingly important part of the U.S.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 19, 2026

With scammers increasingly fleet of foot, cross-border attempts to crack down on them will need to be swift too.

From BBC • Apr. 18, 2026

As women increasingly became the chief money earners, they also increasingly became the heads of their families.

From "Shipwrecked!" by Martin W. Sandler

Related Words

• more
• more and more
• progressively