How to use "increasingly"

What Does "increasingly" Mean?

• What it expresses: The adverb increasingly expresses degree and extent. It indicates that a quality, state, or frequency is growing over time or becoming more intense.
• What part of the sentence it typically modifies: It primarily modifies adjectives (e.g., increasingly difficult) and verbs (e.g., increasingly questioned). It can also modify entire clauses when placed at the beginning of a sentence, though this is less common.
• Register: The register is neutral to formal. It is a staple of journalism, academic writing, and professional discourse, though it is also perfectly acceptable in standard spoken English.

How to Use It

• Typical sentence positions: The most natural position for increasingly is mid-position, specifically right before the adjective or participle it modifies. While it can occasionally be fronted (initial position) for rhetorical emphasis, it almost never appears in the final position.
• What it modifies and how it changes the meaning: When increasingly modifies an adjective, it adds a temporal dimension of growth. Saying a task is "increasingly hard" implies it wasn't as hard before and the difficulty is actively rising.
• Grammatical flexibility: It is highly flexible with negation (e.g., not increasingly common) and is frequently used in questions to probe trends. However, it cannot be used to modify a noun directly.
• What sounds unnatural or incorrect: Using increasingly to modify a noun (e.g., "increasingly problems") is grammatically incorrect. It also sounds awkward when paired with adjectives that describe absolute states (e.g., "increasingly dead" or "increasingly unique").

Real-World Examples

These examples are sourced from increasingly on Ludwig.guru.

"This acquisition allows us to secure a large, global platform on which to distribute our increasingly successful original programming through a collection of strong, well-established and well-managed assets worldwide." — dealbook.nytimes.com

"One of the things that's increasingly clear about the way financial markets work is that the order in which events occur matters quite a bit." — economist.com

"Over the course of the past five years Britain's electorate has become increasingly fragmented." — theguardian.com

"The status of the African golden cat in the wild has never been rigorously assessed, but the species is increasingly threatened by habitat degradation, loss and fragmentation, and by unsustainable hunting," according to one study." — theguardian.com

"With his team now back in third after allowing Milan to make up seven points in the space of three games, it seems increasingly likely that the Tinkerman will not be around to welcome them to Turin." — theguardian.com

Examples sourced from https://ludwig.guru/s/increasingly

Similar Phrases and Alternatives

Phrase	Context
more and more	More informal and common in spoken English.
to a growing extent	Formal; emphasizes the scope of the change.
steadily	Neutral; implies a constant, even rate of increase.
progressively	Formal; often used in scientific or technical contexts to show stages.
mounting	Usually used as an adjective for negative things like pressure or evidence.
ever more	Literary or poetic; adds a sense of continuous, dramatic escalation.

Common Mistakes

• Wrong Scope of Modification: Learners often mistakenly use it as an adjective (e.g., 'an increasingly number') instead of using 'increasing' to modify a noun. Increasingly must modify an adjective or verb.
• Redundancy: Pairing it with words that already imply growth, such as "increasingly growing", is redundant.
• Register Mismatch: Using it in extremely casual text-speak can feel overly stiff; "more and more" is often a better fit for informal chats.

Quick-Reference Summary

Expression	Function	Register	Typical Position
increasingly	Modifies adjectives/verbs to show rising degree	Neutral / Formal	Mid-position (before the modified word)

FAQs

Where in a sentence should increasingly appear?

The word increasingly is most effective in the mid-position, placed directly before the adjective or verb it modifies. While you can occasionally place it at the start of a sentence for emphasis, placing it at the very end usually sounds unnatural and disrupts the flow.

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What is the difference between increasingly and more and more?

While both terms describe a rising trend, increasingly is considered more formal and concise, making it ideal for professional writing. In contrast, more and more is the neutral or informal choice preferred in everyday conversation and casual correspondence.

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Can I use increasingly to modify a noun?

No, you cannot use increasingly to modify a noun because it is an adverb. You should use the adjective "increasing" for nouns (e.g., "an increasing number") and reserve increasingly for modifying adjectives (e.g., "increasingly common").