progressive.

1. Developing or proceeding gradually through successive stages, including changes that become more pronounced.

2. Favoring or associated with reform aimed at advancing social or political conditions.

3. Taking a larger proportion of income as the relevant income level rises.

Use it for

Words that belong together

• progressive change
• progressive deterioration

On the page

Progressive deterioration continued despite several temporary recoveries.

The study recorded progressive change in the organization’s procedures over the decade.

Usage notes

Primary category: economics / business / social science. Forms: Comparative more progressive; superlative most progressive where gradation is meaningful. Legacy lexical fields mirror sense 1 only. Use numbered sense fields for all meanings. Established modern English lexical item. No separate regional spelling or grammatical inflection entry. Writing functions: economic explanation, resource analysis, incentive analysis, comparison. Disciplines: economics, business, social science. Commonness: moderately common.