progression

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noun pro·gres·sion \ prə-ˈgre-shən \

Definition of progression

1 :a sequence of numbers in which each term is related to its predecessor by a uniform law

2 a :the action or process of progressing :advance

b :a continuous and connected series :sequence

3 a :succession of musical tones or chords

b :the movement of musical parts in harmony

c :sequence 2c

—

progressional

play \-ˈgresh-nəl, -ˈgre-shə-nᵊl\ adjective

See progression defined for English-language learners

See progression defined for kids

Examples of progression in a Sentence

Doctors were surprised by the rapid progression of the disease.
the natural progression of his musical talent

Recent Examples of progression from the Web

That sense was ratified by a progression of pictures: the 19-year-old pre-school assistant, the sunlight rendering her modest skirt virtually transparent.

— megan garber, The Atlantic, "The Enduring Fictions of Princess Diana," 24 Aug. 2017
For the study, Cacioppo and his team followed 229 middle-aged participants in the Chicago area over the course of a decade, measuring the progression of both loneliness and self-centeredness over time.

— andrew gregory, The Cut, "A New Study Says Loneliness Turns People Selfish," 23 Aug. 2017
AstraZeneca said human trials of the drug Imfinzi failed to meet the goal of improving progression-free survival rates in patients with non-small cell lung cancer.

— danica kirka, The Seattle Times, "Shares in AstraZeneca dive as key cancer drug trial fails," 27 July 2017
Studies have shown low doses of Atropine, eye drops used to treat amblyopia (lazy eye), may slow down its progression.

— by sue arrowsmith, miamiherald, "Children’s vision problems often go undetected, then get worse," 24 July 2017
Today, Alzheimer’s is the only leading cause of death in the United States without a way to prevent, cure or even slow its progression.

— cincinnati enquirer, Cincinnati.com, "LETTERS: Alzheimer's continues to destroy area families," 24 July 2017
A positive test for amyloid does not mean someone has Alzheimer’s, though its presence precedes the disease and increases the risk of progression.

— tara bahrampour, Washington Post, "PET scans show many Alzheimer’s patients may not actually have the disease," 19 July 2017
Will the progression of the park require more employees?

— joe carberry, idahostatesman, "Two ‘obsessed’ Boise River users create the whitewater waves you play in," 17 July 2017
Petrino said much of Jackson's time has been spent trying to better read defenses, especially safety rotations, and to understanding his progression reads in the passing game.

— steve jones, The Courier-Journal, "Jones | Affable Lamar Jackson shines again on big stage at ACC Kickoff," 13 July 2017

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

First Known Use of progression

15th century

progression Synonyms

Synonyms

catena, catenation, concatenation, consecution, nexus, chain, sequence, string, train

Antonyms

recess, recession, regress, regression, retreat, retrogression

Related 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

Near Antonyms

backwash, ebb, reflux; retraction, return, reversal, reverse; about-face, turnabout, turnaround

PROGRESSION Defined for English Language Learners

progression

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noun

Definition of progression for English Language Learners

: the process of developing over a period of time
: a continuous and connected series of actions, events, etc.

PROGRESSION Defined for Kids

progression

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noun pro·gres·sion \ prə-ˈgre-shən \

Definition of progression for Students

1 :the act of advancing or moving forward

2 :a continuous and connected series (as of acts, events, or steps)

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See words that rhyme with progression Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for progression Spanish Central: Translation of progression Nglish: Translation of progression for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of progression for Arabic speakers

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PROGRESSION Defined for English Language Learners

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Definition of progression for English Language Learners

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