gradation

play

noun gra·da·tion \grā-ˈdā-shən, grə-\

Definition of gradation

1a : a series forming successive stages the gradations of evolutionary developmentb : a step or place in an ordered scale
2 : an advance by regular degrees gradations of social progress
3 : a gradual passing from one tint or shade to another
4 : the act or process of grading
5 : ablaut

gradational

play \grā-ˈdā-shnəl, -shə-n^əl, grə-\ adjective

gradationally

adverb

See gradation defined for English-language learners

See gradation defined for kids

Recent Examples of gradation from the Web

Give me Mahler with no end of personal touches, all sorts of tempo and dynamic gradations.

— tim smith, baltimoresun.com, "Eschenbach puts distinctive stamp on Mahler's 'Resurrection' with NSO", 3 June 2017
There were also fine gradations of enslavement that allowed slaves to change their status through intermarriage and manumission.

— vicente rafael, The Atlantic, "Lola’s Resistant Dignity", 31 May 2017
His critics fear that the style, improvised and inflammatory, might create substantive havoc, particularly in the realm of foreign policy, where the smallest gradations of adjective or adverb can affect real lives.

— richard fausset, New York Times, "Trump's Presidency Upends Familiar Story Lines", 25 Jan. 2017
Each existed now as gradations of resistant texture in the soil.

— eric bennett, The New Yorker, "The Time Capsule", 22 Oct. 2016
There is no gradation, nor overlap between the two.

— ta-nehisi coates, The Atlantic, "The Enduring Solidarity of Whiteness", 8 Feb. 2016
Think of monochromatic painting—the density of Yves Klein’s blue or the subtle gradations of Ad Reinhardt’s blackness—each canvas built up through layers of pigment.

— leslie camhi, Vogue, "Spring’s Bold Statement Hair: Show Your Colors", 4 Feb. 2014
The ascending gradation among these is such that the last mentioned are judged to be more serious that the preceding.

— charles p. pierce, Esquire, "Your Daily Pope", 7 Mar. 2013

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'gradation'. Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Did You Know?

In the Boy Scouts, gradations of rank move upward from Tenderfoot to Eagle Scout. A violin or a voice can produce gradations of musical pitch too small to appear in written music. In the 18th century Jonathan Swift could even write of "the several kinds and gradations of laughter, which ladies must daily practice by the looking-glass".