developing

developing — adjective

1. describes a country or region that is building up its industries, roads, schools

1.adjectiveB1
Definition

describes a country or region that is building up its industries, roads, schools, and other services, and has a lower average income than the wealthiest nations

Example

Mira spent two years teaching English in a developing country before starting medical school.

collocation: developing country

The bank has created a special fund for small businesses in developing nations.

collocation: developing nations

Common collocations
  • developing country
  • developing nation
  • developing world
  • developing region
  • developing economy
  • developing area
Synonyms
  • emerging

    more positive tone, often used for economies with rapid recent growth (e.g. 'emerging markets')

  • industrializing

    narrower meaning — focuses specifically on building manufacturing, not public services or education

  • third-world

    older term, now considered dated and often inaccurate; some speakers find it offensive

Antonyms
  • developed

    describes a wealthy, industrialised nation with modern infrastructure

  • advanced

    focuses on high technological and economic level

Grammar Patterns

developing + noun

Usage Note

Always placed before a noun. The noun is almost always a geographic or political term: country, nation, region, world, or economy. Avoid using this sense without a following noun — 'a developing area' is natural, but 'the area is developing' would express a different meaning (sense 2).

Common Mistakes

Japan is a developing country.
Japan is a developed country.
'developing' describes countries still in the process of economic growth; wealthy industrialised nations are 'developed'.
The developing needs more help.
The developing country needs more help.
'developing' cannot stand alone as a noun in this sense.

2. gradually increasing in size, strength, skill, or complexity over time

2.adjectiveB1
Definition

gradually increasing in size, strength, skill, or complexity over time

Example

Adina took classes every weekend to turn her drawing hobby into a developing skill.

collocation: developing skill

The police monitored the developing situation closely throughout the night.

collocation: developing situation

Common collocations
  • developing situation
  • developing skill
  • developing friendship
  • developing crisis
  • developing market
  • developing storm
  • developing trend
  • developing relationship
Synonyms
  • growing

    broader and more common in everyday speech; works for both size and intensity

  • evolving

    suggests gradual change through stages rather than simple increase

  • emerging

    emphasises coming into view or existence rather than the process of getting stronger

Antonyms
  • declining

    describes something that is getting smaller, weaker, or less important

  • fading

    implies losing strength, brightness, or relevance

Grammar Patterns

developing + noun

Usage Note

Frequently used with nouns describing changes, trends, or relationships: situation, crisis, friendship, skill, market, storm, trend. Unlike sense 1, the noun does not need to be geographic — any entity that can increase or improve over time works.

Common Mistakes

The plant is developing taller every week.
The plant is growing taller every week.
'developing' implies increasing complexity or capability, not just physical size.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: adjective/1

Developing is the standard, neutral term for countries building their economy and infrastructure — it focuses on the ongoing process of growth without implying failure. Emerging has a more optimistic tone and is often used in business contexts ('emerging markets'): it suggests rapid recent progress and future potential. Industrializing is narrower, referring specifically to the shift from agriculture to manufacturing; a country can be developing without rapidly industrializing if it invests in services instead. Third-world is a Cold-War-era label that many now consider outdated or offensive, as it groups vastly different economies together and implies a fixed hierarchy. Use 'developing' for general discussion, 'emerging' for investment or business writing, and avoid 'third-world' in formal or neutral contexts.

developing ↗emergingindustrializingthird-world

Common collocations

Adverbs

  • rapidly developing
  • slowly developing
  • newly developing
  • fast-developing

Phrases

  • developing and developed
  • developing world

Prepositions

  • developing in
  • developing into

Etymology

Old FrenchFrenchEnglish

The word 'developing' comes from the French verb 'développer' (to unwrap or unfold), which in turn comes from Old French 'desveloper' — 'des-' (un-) + 'veloper' (to wrap). The sense of economic progress emerged in the mid-20th century, when international organisations began using 'developing countries' as a more respectful alternative to 'backward' or 'underdeveloped' nations.