増して

まして【況して･増して】

1 〔言うまでもなく〕 not to mention [speak of…]; to say nothing of…; let alone; 〔なおさら…だ〕 much [even, still, yet] more; 〔なおさら…でない〕 much [even, still] less.

●他人の私でもこんなに辛いのだ. まして家族はどんなに辛いことだろう. It's upsetting even for me, an outsider. How much more upsetting will it be for the family?

・家賃も払えないのに, まして旅行なんか行けないよ. I can't afford to pay the rent, much less to go [to say nothing of going] on a vacation.

・平仮名も読めないんだから, まして漢字は無理だ. Since he can't read hiragana, kanji is even more beyond him.

・歩くだけで精一杯なのに, まして走るなんてとんでもない. It's all I can do to walk, so running would be that much more impossible.

・この年で仕事を探すのは難しい. ましてこの不況だ. あるわけがない. It's hard enough to look for work at my age, and all the more in the present recession.

・プロでも難しいのにまして私のような素人にできるわけがない. What's hard for a professional will be still harder for an amateur like me.

2 〔いっそう〕 even [far, much] more.

●…にもまして even [far, much] more than….

●あの時は君の励ましが何にもましてありがたかった. Your encouragement at that time was far more welcome than anything else. | I was most grateful for your encouragement at that time.

・彼女は結婚以来, 前にもまして充実した仕事ぶりだ. Since she got married, her work has been even more satisfactory than before.

・あのホテルは設備も料理もいいが, それにもましてすばらしいのはあの眺望だ. The hotel's facilities and cuisine may be good, but what is far finer than that is the view.