gradation
any process or change taking place through a series of stages, by degrees, or in a gradual manner.
a stage, degree, or grade in such a series.
Origin of gradation
1Other words from gradation
- gra·da·tion·al, adjective
- gra·da·tion·al·ly, adverb
- re·gra·da·tion, noun
Words Nearby gradation
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use gradation in a sentence
Take enough samples of some aspect of a visual field—its gradation of color, for example, or shifts from foreground to background—and it is possible to reconstitute the entirety of the information.
This affordable pick comes with fractional gradations and is easy to read.
Assefa, an Ethiopia native who lives in Baltimore, makes seemingly translucent pictures with subtle gradations of a single color.
In the galleries: Intellectually engaging, visually striking and open to interpretation | Mark Jenkins | October 8, 2021 | Washington PostExercise could easily exist on a continuum with infinite gradations of difficulty.
Compared with many other orders, the primates were rather easy to arrange on their evolutionary tree, thanks to well-preserved fossils, as well as relatively small yet well-defined gradations between living forms.
The Human Error Darwin Inspired - Issue 90: Something Green | Aaron Hirsh | September 30, 2020 | Nautilus
But within that group there is a great deal of gradation—much of it tied to specific timelines within pregnancy.
How Wendy Davis Became America’s Conscience on Abortion | Keli Goff | February 18, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTNow, national possessions must be estimated by the same gradation that we have applied to individual possessions.
Friends in Council | Arthur HelpsIt is something of the shape of a mitre, and forms a beautiful gradation of ascent towards the summit of faade.
George Eliot's Life, Vol. II (of 3) | George EliotWhy should we sacrifice this clear and useful gradation: unwell, very unwell, ill, very ill?
America To-day, Observations and Reflections | William ArcherThe merest glance at society round us shows an endless gradation of varied service.
The Hearth-Stone | Samuel OsgoodYou appear to imply that development and gradation in organs and functions are opposed to that conception, which they are not.
George Eliot's Life, Vol. I (of 3) | George Eliot
British Dictionary definitions for gradation
/ (ɡrəˈdeɪʃən) /
a series of systematic stages; gradual progression
(often plural) a stage or degree in such a series or progression
the act or process of arranging or forming in stages, grades, etc, or of progressing evenly
(in painting, drawing, or sculpture) transition from one colour, tone, or surface to another through a series of very slight changes
linguistics any change in the quality or length of a vowel within a word indicating certain distinctions, such as inflectional or tense differentiations: See ablaut
geology the natural levelling of land as a result of the building up or wearing down of pre-existing formations
Derived forms of gradation
- gradational, adjective
- gradationally, adverb
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Scientific definitions for gradation
[ grā-dā′shən ]
The process by which land is leveled off through erosion or the transportation or deposition of sediments, especially the process by which a riverbed is brought to a level where it is just able to transport the amount of sediment delivered to it.
The proportion of particles (such as sand grains) of a given size within a sample of particulate material, such as soil or sandstone.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Browse