encroachment
noun /ɪnˈkrəʊtʃmənt/
/ɪnˈkrəʊtʃmənt/
(formal)- [uncountable, countable] the act of slowly affecting or using up too much of somebody's time, rights, personal life, etc.
- the deadening encroachment of political correctness
- encroachment on/upon something the regime’s many encroachments on human rights
- [uncountable] the act of slowly covering more and more of an area
- It is increasingly difficult to shield farmland from urban encroachment.