progressively

C2+ Topic:Describing Qualities

US /prəˈɡrɛsɪvli/ UK /prəˈɡrɛsɪvli/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

adv
in a manner increasing steadily by stages or degrees

The disease worsened progressively over several months.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 adv · in a manner increasing... gradually increasingly steadilyincrementallysuccessivelycumulatively

Opposites

suddenly abruptlydecreasingly

Word family

Related forms progressive progression progress

Etymology

From progressive (from Latin progressus, past participle of progredi 'to go forward', from pro- 'forward' + gradi 'to step') + the adverbial suffix -ly.

progressus Latin gradi Latin *ǵʰredʰ- Proto-Indo-European

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Describing Qualities Word Formation & Derivatives

External links

# progressively

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** adv
**IPA (US):** /prəˈɡrɛsɪvli/
**IPA (UK):** /prəˈɡrɛsɪvli/

## Meanings
1. in a manner increasing steadily by stages or degrees

## Examples
- The disease worsened progressively over several months.

## Synonyms
- gradually
- increasingly
- steadily
- incrementally
- successively
- cumulatively

## Antonyms
- suddenly
- abruptly
- decreasingly

## Related Forms
- progressive
- progression
- progress

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: progressus
- Root: gradi
- Root: *ǵʰredʰ-

## Etymology
From progressive (from Latin progressus, past participle of progredi 'to go forward', from pro- 'forward' + gradi 'to step') + the adverbial suffix -ly.

## AI Etymology
Progressively comes from progressive (from Latin progressus, past participle of progredi 'to go forward', from pro- 'forward' + gradi 'to step') + the adverbial suffix -ly. The suffix is part of the word's derivational shape, marking the final grammatical or semantic role while the base supplies the central meaning. As an adverb, it carries the sense "in a manner increasing steadily by stages or degrees", with the older formation still helping explain the modern use. Relevant historical forms include Latin progressus, Latin gradi, and Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰredʰ-. Related words include progressive, progression, progress.

## Topics
- Describing Qualities
- Word Formation & Derivatives

markdown