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

Farhad, a 35-year-old chef, also said life was becoming "increasingly difficult", noting economic hardship had set in even before the war.

From Barron's • Jun. 7, 2026

It’s one Pulisic has been repeating with increasingly regularity as the World Cup approaches.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 7, 2026

Youth unemployment remains high, college graduates often struggle to find well-paid work and competition for stable government jobs is increasingly fierce.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 7, 2026

In moving to seven wickets in the match on his comeback to Test cricket, Robinson left New Zealand 55-5, 199 runs adrift of an increasingly fanciful target of 254.

From BBC • Jun. 6, 2026

Although Elizebeth was happy to put William front and center, people increasingly wanted to talk about her own career.

From "The Woman All Spies Fear" by Amy Butler Greenfield

Related Words

• more
• more and more
• progressively