The belief or mindset that anything can be accomplished if you tackle it one small step at a time. The frame of mind that is the opposite of "all or nothing" thinking. Phrases a person with a positive incrementality might use include "baby steps", "How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time", and "start small and build." "Slow and steady wins the race" is the motto of the person who possesses incrementality. This is the tortoise, not the hare.
Start small; develop incrementality!
Her incrementality helped her to make major lifestyle changes one baby step at a time.
Her incrementality helped her to make major lifestyle changes one baby step at a time.
by Carlyweb December 11, 2011
Get the INCREMENTALITY mug.Implementing systems that may only show results later for long term benefit, specifically regarding climate change and equity. For example, eliminating single-use plastic in stores and instead having to bring your own containers would go against the easy short-term-gratification way of doing things, however, it would benefit the society and the individual in the long run. Another example is implementing solar panels in more places - short term it would cost more but in the long run it would be cheaper and better for the environment.
Company X should adopt eco-incrementalism in their systems and opt for solar energy instead of fossil fuels.
by sofistry December 12, 2022
Get the eco-incrementalism mug.Refers to where someone gradually "progresses down the slippery slope" into more and more unlawful (i.e., "criminal") behavior.
A lot of the more-serious legal-offenders started out with just petty-small stuff like throwing eggs or snitching a roll of Life-Savers at a drug store, but then they incrimintally progressed downhill from there until they were doing "heavier" stuff like joy-riding or smashing mailboxes.
by QuacksO July 24, 2018
Get the incrimintal mug.There is a secret paramilitary unit called "The Increment" which performs covert operations on behalf of HM Government, claiming that operators are selected from the "cream of the crop" of the SAS and SBS, and work on Security Service and Secret Intelligence Service supervised missions. The same unit is known as Counter Revolutionary Warfare unit (CRW) in the SAS.
There is a secret paramilitary unit called "The Increment" which performs covert operations on behalf of HM Government, claiming that operators are selected from the "cream of the crop" of the SAS and SBS, and work on Security Service and Secret Intelligence Service supervised missions. The same unit is known as Counter Revolutionary Warfare unit (CRW) in the SAS.
by Increment December 5, 2011
Get the Increment mug.The tactic of demanding that change happen only in tiny, manageable increments, then using the slowness of incremental change to argue that no real change is happening. Weaponized incrementalism is what happens when opponents of reform pose as friends of progress, always supporting "reasonable" steps while opposing anything substantial. It's the logic of "let's study the problem further" (delay), "let's start with a pilot program" (containment), "let's wait for consensus" (permanent waiting). Weaponized incrementalism allows its users to appear reasonable while ensuring nothing significant ever changes. The cure is recognizing that some problems require systemic solutions, not incremental tinkering, and that "reasonable" steps can be a mask for resistance.
Weaponized Incrementalism Example: "They'd been studying police reform for years—commissions, reports, pilot programs. Weaponized incrementalism had turned reform into a permanent process with no outcome. Each step was reasonable; collectively, they added up to nothing. The system continued unchanged, which was exactly what the incrementalists wanted."
by Abzugal Nammugal Enkigal February 17, 2026
Get the Weaponized Incrementalism mug.Often used by those who failed English GCSE, it is another way of saying environmental. Often used when exposing dogs to new situations.
by SamBub689 February 26, 2020
Get the Invermental mug.by Din@s0ur August 23, 2021
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