Progressively

How to spell progressively

13 letters · 4 syllables

How to pronounce progressively

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does progressively mean?

1. adverbIn a way that develops or increases gradually and steadily over time.

Progressively in a sentence

• The medication relieved the pain progressively over several hours.

• As the deadline neared, the office grew progressively busier.

Where does progressively come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word traces back to the Latin verb gradi, meaning 'to step' or 'to walk', whose past participle stem gress- shows up across a whole family of English words. Adding the prefix pro-, meaning 'forward', produced progressus, literally 'a stepping forward' or 'advance'. From there came progressivus in later Latin and progressif in French, describing something that moves ahead by stages. English took on 'progressive' in the 1600s, and the adverb 'progressively' was formed in English by attaching the familiar -ly ending. The same gress- root, meaning a step, also walks through 'congress' (a coming together), 'aggressive' (a stepping toward) and 'digress' (a stepping aside), which is a useful reminder that the doubled s belongs to the root.

How the word is built

• pro- (forward)
• gress (from gradi: to step or walk)
• -ive (tending to)
• -ly (adverb suffix)