progressively
Americanadverb
-
by degrees or stages; incrementally.
If the disease remains unchecked, the rate of infection in the herd increases progressively over time.
Over a five-year period, she became progressively weaker.
-
in a way characterized by or favoring improvement, reform, advances in social policy or conditions, more enlightened ideas, etc..
Imagine a political party that actually wants America to be governed progressively.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of progressively
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.
The intervals between these fluctuations became progressively shorter, creating four distinct bumps in the light curve.
From Science Daily • Jul. 6, 2026
The city region has been progressively granted more powers in successive devolution deals since 2009.
From BBC • Jun. 29, 2026
It was ultimately cleared by an appeals court in May and will see the United States provide $1.6 billion over five years so long as Kenya progressively takes on more of the burden.
From Barron's • Jun. 24, 2026
Investigators found that when those initial slab-to-column connections failed, the pool deck’s concrete slab began to silently warp and fracture over a 21-day period, progressively shifting immense weight to adjacent columns.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 22, 2026
Each hour the dance hall seems to grow progressively warmer, so by the eighth day, the air, walls, and floor are saturated with the hot, teeming odor of boys.
From "All the Light We Cannot See" by Anthony Doerr
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
