[1] : The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48

gradual \grad"ual"\; a. cf; f. graduel. see grade, and cf.
   gradual, n.
   proceeding by steps or degrees; advancing, step by step, as
   in ascent or descent or from one state to another; regularly
   progressive; slow; as, a gradual increase of knowledge; a
   gradual decline.
   1913 webster

         creatures animate with gradual life
         of growth, sense, reason, all summed up in man.
                                                  --milton.
   1913 webster
see also:
grade gradual 

[2] : The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48

gradual \grad"ual\, n. ll. graduale a gradual in sense 1,
   fr. l. gradus step: cf. f. graduel. see grade, and cf.
   grail a gradual.
   1. r. c. ch.
      a an antiphon or responsory after the epistle, in the
          mass, which was sung on the steps, or while the deacon
          ascended the steps.
      b a service book containing the musical portions of the
          mass.
          1913 webster

   2. a series of steps. obs. --dryden.
      1913 webster
see also:
grade grail 

[3] : WordNet (r) 2.0

gradual
     adj 1: proceeding in small stages; "a gradual increase in prices"
            ant: sudden
     2: of a topographical gradient; not steep or abrupt; "a gradual
        slope" ant: steep
     n : roman catholic church an antiphon usually from the book
         of psalms immediately after the epistle at mass
see also:
sudden steep 

[4] : Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0

68 moby thesaurus words for "gradual":
   ambling, cautious, circumspect, claudicant, crawling, creeping,
   creeping like snail, deliberate, dilatory, easy, even, faltering,
   flagging, foot-dragging, gentle, halting, hobbled, hobbling, idle,
   inchmeal, indolent, lagging, languid, languorous, lazy, leisurely,
   limping, lumbering, moderate, piecemeal, poking, poky, regular,
   relaxed, reluctant, sauntering, shuffling, slack, slothful, slow,
   slow as death, slow as molasses, slow as slow, slow-crawling,
   slow-foot, slow-going, slow-legged, slow-moving, slow-paced,
   slow-poky, slow-running, slow-sailing, slow-stepped, sluggish,
   snail-paced, snaillike, staggering, steady, step-by-step,
   strolling, tentative, toddling, tortoiselike, tottering, trudging,
   turtlelike, unhurried, waddling

Gradual >> G Words
Gradual, definition of term: Gradual
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