increasingly more serious

USAGE SUMMARY

The phrase "increasingly more serious" is not considered correct in standard written English due to redundancy.
You can use it when trying to emphasize a growing level of seriousness, but it is better to avoid it for clarity. Example: "The situation has become increasingly more serious over the past few weeks."

Science

News & Media

Human-verified examples from authoritative sources

Exact Expressions

4 human-written examples

It's a classic story of wrongly-accused criminality: from not committing petty crime, I've graduated to not committing increasingly more serious crimes.

The Guardian - Tech

High temperature heat hazards at working surfaces and driving faces are becoming increasingly more serious.

Mining Science and Technology (China)

Squared kappa was used because disagreement by an increasing number of grades on the five-grade scale potentially has increasingly more serious clinical consequences.

EJNMMI Research

Some areas of the Chinese coastal waters are listed among the largest dead zones of the world, and harmful algal blooms are becoming increasingly more serious.

Environmental Science & Technology

Human-verified similar examples from authoritative sources

Similar Expressions

55 human-written examples

Karen Lehrman, editorial director of Assouline Publishing in New York, sounded quite ready to move past the mini-era of socialite trophy books and emphasize the meatier offerings in the fall catalog, including books by Luc Sante and Paul Goldberger. "The socialite books are just a small part of what we do here, and we're increasingly doing more serious projects" she said.

The New York Times - Style

The cuts mean local authorities' Camhs spending is increasingly redirected towards more serious cases of mental ill-health, at the expense of early intervention services.

The Guardian

As more and more kids participate in these activities in an increasingly competitive way, more serious injuries will result.

Huffington Post

At the same time, the environmental problem becomes more and more serious and increasingly affects economic development.

Journal of Cleaner Production

She has also noticed attitudes changing in the past year: whereas most people wore disposable masks, increasingly more are going for the serious or more "functional" types as she calls it.

The Guardian

In many countries, due to the rapidly ageing population, increasingly more people are suffering from serious chronic disease towards the end of life, making further development in palliative care a major public health challenge.

BMC Public Health

This has meant that the homes have increasingly been used for children with more serious issues.

The Guardian

Expert writing Tips

Best practice

For concise writing, consider using "increasingly serious" or "progressively more serious" as alternatives to "increasingly more serious". While understandable, the latter can be perceived as somewhat redundant.

Common error

Avoid using "increasingly more serious" when the context already implies a growing sense of urgency or danger. In such cases, "increasingly serious" is often sufficient.

Linguistic Context

The phrase "increasingly more serious" functions as an adverbial modifier, describing how a situation or condition is changing over time. It indicates a progressive increase in the severity or importance of something. As noted by Ludwig, while understandable, it can be seen as redundant.

Expression frequency: Uncommon

Frequent in

News & Media

40%

Science

40%

Formal & Business

20%

Less common in

Encyclopedias

0%

Wiki

0%

Reference

0%

Ludwig's WRAP-UP

The phrase "increasingly more serious" signifies a situation's growing gravity over time. While understandable, Ludwig suggests it can be somewhat redundant. Grammatically acceptable but stylistically debated, it's more effective to use alternatives like "increasingly serious" or "progressively more serious" for clearer communication. This phrase appears mostly in news and scientific contexts, carrying a neutral tone overall. For effective writing, prioritize conciseness and context awareness to determine the most suitable expression.

More alternative expressions

Phrases that express similar concepts, ordered by semantic similarity:

progressively more serious

Replaces "increasingly" with "progressively", maintaining the sense of gradual escalation in seriousness.

increasingly grave

Substitutes "serious" with "grave", heightening the sense of severity and importance.

ever more serious

Uses "ever more" instead of "increasingly more", offering a slightly more emphatic tone.

becoming increasingly serious

Adds "becoming" to emphasize the ongoing process of becoming more serious.

growing more serious

Emphasizes the gradual increase in seriousness using "growing".

more and more serious

A common alternative that uses repetition to highlight the increasing severity.

increasingly critical

Replaces "serious" with "critical", suggesting a situation is reaching a crucial point.

steadily worsening

Focuses on the deterioration of a situation, implying increasing seriousness.

escalating in severity

Uses "escalating" to emphasize the rapid increase in the seriousness of the situation.

intensifying

A more concise alternative that captures the increasing intensity of a situation.

FAQs

Is "increasingly more serious" grammatically correct?

While understandable, "increasingly more serious" is considered somewhat redundant. "Increasingly serious" is generally preferred.

What's a more concise alternative to "increasingly more serious"?

You can use "increasingly serious" or "progressively more serious" for a more concise expression.

When is it appropriate to use "increasingly more serious"?

You can use it to emphasize a growing level of seriousness, though it's better to avoid it for clarity. Simpler alternatives like "increasingly serious" are usually more effective.

What are some synonyms for "increasingly more serious"?

Synonyms include "increasingly grave", "ever more serious", or "growing more serious", depending on the specific nuance you want to convey.