increase
increase
Pronunciation
The IPA phonetic spelling for the word "increase" is ɪnˈkriːs.
First Syllable (ɪn):
ɪ - The near-close near-front unrounded vowel (as in in)
n - The alveolar nasal consonant (as in no)
Second Syllable ($kriːs):
k - The voiceless velar stop consonant (as in keep)
r - The alveolar approximant consonant (as in red)
iː - The close front unrounded vowel (the long 'ee' sound as in tree)
s - The voiceless alveolar fricative consonant (as in sun)
Word Form Variations
The word "increase" has the following common word form variations:
Verb (Base Form): increase (e.g., They increase the price.)
Verb (Present Participle/Gerund): increasing (e.g., The cost is increasing.)
Verb (Simple Past/Past Participle): increased (e.g., He increased his speed.)
Verb (Third-Person Singular Present): increases (e.g., It increases the pressure.)
Noun (Singular): increase (e.g., We noticed an increase.)
Noun (Plural): increases (e.g., There were several increases.)
Adjective (Related Adjective): increasing (e.g., The increasing demand.)
Adjective (Related Adjective): increased (e.g., The increased volume.)
Adverb (Related Adverb): increasingly (e.g., It is increasingly difficult.)
Definitions, Synonyms and Antonyms
Noun (increase)
Definition: A rise or growth in the amount, size, degree, or intensity of something.
Synonyms: rise, growth, gain, addition, upturn, expansion
Antonyms: decrease, reduction, decline, loss, fall, cut
Verb (increase)
Definition (Transitive): To make something greater in amount, size, degree, or intensity.
Example: She increased her efforts.
Synonyms: raise, augment, enlarge, intensify, boost, multiply
Antonyms: decrease, reduce, diminish, lessen, lower, contract
Definition (Intransitive): To become greater or larger in amount, size, degree, or intensity.
Example: The pressure increased rapidly.
Synonyms: grow, expand, swell, rise, mount, accelerate
Antonyms: shrink, contract, diminish, drop, recede, subside
Examples of Use
📰 News and Online Publications
These examples often focus on quantitative changes in economics, health, or policy.
Verb (Intransitive): "Global temperatures are projected to increase by another 2 to 6 degrees Celsius by the end of the century due to ongoing emissions." (Source: The Guardian, October 2024)
Noun: "The central bank announced a marginal increase in the key interest rate, signaling concerns about persistent inflation." (Source: Financial Times, November 2024)
Verb (Transitive): "Local governments must take steps to increase public transportation access to underserved neighborhoods." (Source: CNN, September 2024)
Adverb (Related Form): "Increasingly, businesses are adopting remote work policies to attract and retain top talent." (Source: Forbes, August 2024)
📚 Books and Literature
In literature, "increase" can refer to abstract concepts, population, or physical growth.
Noun: "The philosopher noted that with an increase in knowledge often comes a proportionate increase in doubt." (Source: A History of Western Thought, March 2024)
Verb (Intransitive): "As the fire consumed the dry wood, the heat within the small cabin began to increase alarmingly." (Source: Fictional Novel, July 2024)
Verb (Transitive - Past Tense): "She had deliberately increased the difficulty of the task to test the mettle of her young apprentices." (Source: Modern Fantasy Series, June 2024)
🎙️ Entertainment, Media, and Public Discourse
These examples often appear in reviews, interviews, or general conversation.
Noun: "Critics pointed to a significant increase in production value in the latest season of the streaming series, particularly in the costume design." (Source: Entertainment Weekly Review, May 2024)
Public Discourse (Verb): "We need to increase our efforts to recycle and reduce waste if we want to protect the environment for the next generation."
Verb (Intransitive): "During the final minutes of the concert, the crowd noise seemed to increase exponentially with every guitar riff." (Source: Live Performance Review, April 2024)
Noun (Plural): "Subscription services continue to face backlash over repeated price increases announced throughout the year." (Source: Tech Blog, February 2024)
10 Quotes Using Increase
A thing of beauty is a joy forever: its loveliness increases; it will never pass into nothingness. (John Keats)
Absence diminishes mediocre passions and increases great ones, as the wind extinguishes candles and fans fires. (François de La Rochefoucauld)
Because power corrupts, society's demands for moral authority and character increase as the importance of the position increases. (John Adams)
As knowledge increases, wonder deepens. (Charles Morgan)
The greater our knowledge increases the more our ignorance unfolds. (John F. Kennedy)
Knowledge is like money: to be of value it must circulate, and in circulating it can increase in quantity and, hopefully, in value. (Louis L'Amour)
The historical experience of socialist countries has sadly demonstrated that collectivism does not do away with alienation but rather increases it, adding to it a lack of basic necessities and economic inefficiency. (Pope John Paul II)
If you want to increase your success rate, double your failure rate. (Thomas J. Watson)
Liberty has never come from Government; liberty has always come from the subjects of it; the history of liberty is a history of limitations of governmental power, not the increase of it. (Woodrow Wilson)
Knowledge has to be improved, challenged, and increased constantly, or it vanishes. (Peter Drucker)
Etymology
The word "increase" has a straightforward history rooted in Latin, essentially meaning "to grow into" or "to grow up."
🌳 The Roots
Old French: The word came into English from the Old French verb encreistre, which meant "to grow, to grow up, to enlarge, or to multiply."
Latin Core: This French term was derived directly from the Latin verb increscere.
in- is a prefix meaning "into" or "upon."
crescere is the root verb meaning "to grow." (This root also gives us English words like crescent and creation.)
So, the literal Latin meaning was "to grow in" or "to grow upon."
🕰️ First Known Use in English
The word "increase" (or an early spelling variation) entered the English language around the early 14th century (specifically attested around 1300–1350).
First Meaning: The earliest known use and meaning of the English word was as a verb with the sense of "to grow, multiply, or become greater in quantity or size."
Noun Use: The use of "increase" as a noun (meaning "a growth or enlargement") followed later, appearing in the 15th century as a derivative of the verb.
In essence, when English speakers first adopted the word, they were referring to the process of something becoming bigger, more numerous, or more intense.
Phrases + Idioms Containing Increase
The word "increase" is primarily a core verb and noun, so it features in common set phrases rather than true, figurative idioms. Below is a list of common, set phrases and professional/economic phrases where the word is standardly used, supplemented with idiomatic expressions using a close synonym (like grow or rise) for a similar effect.
Set Phrases (Using "Increase")
Increase exponentially: To grow at an accelerating rate (e.g., The demand for the new product increased exponentially.)
Increase in volume: A rise in the amount or number of something, often production or sound level.
Increase the stakes: To raise the risk, cost, or importance of a decision or action.
Increase the efficiency: To improve the performance relative to the resources used.
Increase the capacity: To expand the maximum output, size, or ability to hold something.
On the increase: Growing or becoming more frequent (e.g., Cybercrime is on the increase.)
Idiomatic Expressions (Using Synonyms for Similar Effect)
To go through the roof: (Using synonym rise) To increase rapidly to an extremely high level (usually prices or anger).
To get a bump up: (Using synonym raise) To receive an increase in salary, status, or position.
To multiply like rabbits: (Using synonym multiply) To increase very quickly in number.
To snowball: (Using synonym grow/expand) To increase rapidly in size, importance, or seriousness, often starting from something small.
To build up steam: (Using synonym grow/intensify) To increase momentum or intensity gradually.
To climb the ladder: (Using synonym rise) To increase one's rank or status within an organization or profession.
Vocabulary-Based Stories from SEA
Source Information
Definition of increase from The Academic Glossary at Self Exploration Academy, a Urikville Press Publication. © All rights reserved.
