progression

1 a series of things linked together <a progression of events that ended in utter disaster for the arctic explorers> Synonyms catena, catenation, concatenation, consecution, nexus, chain, sequence, string, trainRelated Words chain reaction; belt, circle, cycle, vicious circle (also vicious cycle); continuum, gamut, gauntlet (also gantlet), scale, spectrum; flow, river, stream; file, line, queue, range, row, succession

2 forward movement in time or place <our progression was slow but steady> Synonyms advancement, furtherance, going, headway, march, onrush, passage, process, procession, progress, advanceRelated Words current, drift, flow, flux, stream, way; advent, approach, arrival, coming, nearing; bound, jump, leap, step, stride; impetus, momentumNear Antonyms backwash, ebb, reflux; retraction, return, reversal, reverse; about-face, turnabout, turnaroundAntonyms recess, recession, regress, regression, retreat, retrogression

3 the act or process of going from the simple or basic to the complex or advanced <that civilization's gradual progression from simple bartering to a complex economy and monetary system> Synonyms elaboration, evolution, expansion, growth, progress, developmentRelated Words advancement, betterment, improvement, perfection, refinement; incubation, maturation, maturing, ripening; blossoming, flourishing, flowering; addition, augmentation, enhancement, supplementation; emergence, evolvement, metamorphosisNear Antonyms backslide, lapse, relapse; decadence, decay, decaying, declension, declination, decline, degeneracy, degeneration, degradation, descent, deterioration, devaluation, downfall, downgrade, ebbing, falling, weakeningAntonyms regress, regression, retrogression, reversion