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gradual

[graj-oo-uhl]

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adjective

taking place, changing, moving, etc., by small degrees or little by little: gradual improvement in health.

rising or descending at an even, moderate inclination: a gradual slope.

noun

Ecclesiastical. (often initial capital letter)

an antiphon sung between the Epistle and the Gospel in the Eucharistic service.

a book containing the words and music of the parts of the liturgy that are sung by the choir.

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Gradual is always a great word to know.

So is bezoar. Does it mean:

a fool or simpleton; ninny.

a calculus or concretion found in the stomach or intestines of certain animals, esp. ruminants, formerly reputed to be an effective remedy for poison.

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Origin:
1375–1425; late Middle English < Medieval Latin graduālis pertaining to steps, graduāle the part of the service sung as the choir stood on the altar steps, equivalent to Latin gradu(s) step, grade + -ālis -al¹

Related forms

grad·u·al·ly, adverb

grad·u·al·ness, noun

un·grad·u·al, adjective

un·grad·u·al·ly, adverb

Synonyms
1. See slow. 2. gentle.

Antonyms
1. sudden. 2. precipitous.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Link To gradual

Example Sentences

Economists expect more gradual trims in the coming months as policymakers try to stimulate the country's blighted economy.

The move toward e-books has been gradual but noticeable and parallels a similar shift in the journals world, he said.

These require only gradual change and pretty much retain the status quo.

EXPAND

Economists expect more gradual trims in the coming months as policymakers try to stimulate the country's blighted economy.

The move toward e-books has been gradual but noticeable and parallels a similar shift in the journals world, he said.

These require only gradual change and pretty much retain the status quo.

They have been used to store water during times of heavy buildup and for gradual release during dry periods.

DC, who has argued for the gradual emergence of modern cognitive abilities.

He was correct, although this revolution in naval warfare was preceded by a gradual evolution.

Taylor's knowledge of the brain made her the perfect witness to her body's gradual shutdown.

But today, because of a gradual loosening in company policies, employees have far greater say.

Berdahl cautioned about the need to expect gradual change.

However, gradual political reform is the best solution.

Guided practice using the strategy with gradual release of responsibility.

Evolution is certainly not an exponential process, but a gradual one.

Technicians then create a computerized movie showing the gradual movement of the teeth from beginning to end.

They express the opinion that the gradual increasing.

Two optometrists have noticed a gradual increase in my cup to disc ratio.

Italians prefer compromise, half-measures and gradual change.

Movement along a fault is often so gradual that only sensitive scientific instruments can detect it.

One would have expected a gradual cooling as one moves away from the central heat source.

Geologists realized that, of course, both gradual and catastrophic processes helped shape the landscape.

And he predicted a gradual return to healthier markets.

The major attraction of the phased concept is that it allows for a gradual adaptation to full retirement.

When demand was growing more slowly, farmers could meet it through gradual improvements in their yields.

Today a vocal minority is complicating the picture by suggesting that the die-off could have been more gradual.

The big question, he says, is whether the adiabatic method's gradual adjustment of qubits would operate rapidly at that size.

Man, the gradual decriminalization of marijuana is really taking all the fun out of indoor agriculture.

But she is concerned, if not vexed, about the gradual encroachment on shelf space by my vegetables.

Or you can take the nine-year gradual transfer route.

The gradual takeover by electronic trading has shifted the economics of the exchanges.

The gradual changes that can occur in these properties of a river system are related to climate, topography, and geology.

In other words, their extinction was sudden and catastrophic, not gradual.

Some computer science problems lend themselves perfectly to gradual improvement, or incrementalism.

Gradual weather change would probably prove only an expensive headache for humans.

It'd be interesting to see a timeline of the gradual demolition of these buildings, and if any still exist.

The gradual opening up of domestic commerce, financial services and tourism is under way.

Otherwise you would see a gradual rise in the brackish water influence," he said.

One such impairment is a patient's gradual loss of motivation and ability to learn from rewards.

The gradual transition improves structural rigidity.

His gradual recovery may have been a surprise to much of the medical profession but, clearly, not to himself.

There is a gradual process of letting go, so your parents have to make decisions in stages as they are ready.

The process of defining the virtual organisation is a gradual one.

Thousands more are shuttled into the so-called exclusion zone to work on the gradual powering down of the plant.

And, this folks, is why our gradual slide into mediocrity continues.

Then the gradual retirement of key there-at-the-creation scientists.

But is gradual weight loss followed by gradual weight gain really more unhealthy.

One factor that has contributed to increased plagiarism is a gradual erosion of writing ability among college students.

Other companies are seeing a more gradual influx of employee-owned gadgets.

Through gradual growth, the forelimbs would have evolved into wings.

Both of these raptors have seen a gradual population increase to the the tens of thousands there are at today.

There's a nice increase in difficulty throughout the series, but the slope is gradual.

Even the industrial revolution was too gradual to warrant the term revolution and too broad to be considered merely industrial.

We reach it after a gradual drive around the eastern extremity of our route, our moment to pretend to be sophisticated.

Hopefully it will be more gradual than a year or two but look at the mini ice age hundreds of years ago.

But came, through some gradual dire alchemy, to make decisions for you.

If this debt-reduction is gradual enough, households can save more and spend more at the same time.

In my experience, a natural picture will have gradual changes in color because of light and shade.

What you are missing is the concept of gradual change.

The gradual annihilation of distance will put human beings in closer contact and harmonize their views and aspirations.

Yellow-pages firms have two great strengths which mean that their decline is likely to be gradual.

Gradual changes in a population are not always evident by the emergence of transitional species.

It may be some legislation, or technical breakthrough, or gradual social trend.

On top of all this, banks face the gradual withdrawal of extraordinary government support.

Because of that, and other actions that bring gradual decline of subordination to big oil, the dynamics are changing.

Deliberate international political initiatives could also lead to the gradual emergence of a.

Since then, there has been a gradual relaxation of the old curfews, dress codes and other social prohibitions.

But now, government officials have realized that global warming will not bring a gradual and benign increase in temperatures.

Many observers have noted the gradual displacement in our economy of materials by information.

The first is the gradual opening up of his country's economy to foreign investment.

Gradual adaptation toward a range-expansion phenotype initiated the global radiation of toads.

With varied degrees, the outcome was the second hypothesis, the gradual one.

The rest of the world will have a gradual adjustment that brings population densities back into reasonably sustainable levels.

The change would be gradual to avoid a crash in the housing market.

There is the desire to slow down and make more gradual changes that are more carefully controlled.

In response to the gradual erosion of their main selling.

The result is a gradual depletion of natural resources.

The gradual one has been a steady trend towards making it easier to incorporate.

COLLAPSE

Collins

World English Dictionary

gradual (ˈɡrædjʊəl)

—*adj*
1.	occurring, developing, moving, etc, in small stages: a gradual improvement in health
2.	not steep or abrupt: a gradual slope

—n
3.	(often capital) Christianity
	a. an antiphon or group of several antiphons, usually from the Psalms, sung or recited immediately after the epistle at Mass
	b. a book of plainsong containing the words and music of the parts of the Mass that are sung by the cantors and choir

[C16: from Medieval Latin graduālis relating to steps, from Latin gradus a step]

'gradually

—*adv*

'gradualness

—n

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source

Etymonline

Word Origin & History

gradual

1540s, from M.L. gradualis, from L. gradus "step" (see grade).

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