accroître

Accroître is a French verb meaning to increase, to make larger, or to expand in quantity, intensity, or extent. It is used transitively to indicate that something becomes greater (accroître les revenus, accroître la production, accroître la portée d’un programme). It can also be used intransitively in the form s’accroître to describe a phenomenon that grows or intensifies (la demande s’accroît).

Etymology and conjugation: accroître is formed with the prefix ac- added to croître, which comes from Latin croître. It is a verb of the third group and has irregular conjugation in several tenses. In the present: j’accrois, tu accrois, il accroît; nous accroissons, vous accroissez, ils accroissent. The passé composé is formed with avoir, for example j’ai accru, tu as accru, il a accru, etc. The present participle is accroissant, and the related noun is accroissement.

Usage and nuance: the verb tends to be more formal or literary than synonyms like augmenter. It is common in economics, administration, science, and analytical writing. It can express deliberate augmentation (accroître les ressources) as well as natural progression (les inégalités s’accroissent). In contexts of decline or reduction, other verbs such as diminuer or décroître are used.

See also: accroissement, croître, augmenter, décroit, décroître.