as in slowly
by small steps or amounts
gradually worked his way down the class roster add the sugar to the beaten egg whites gradually to make the meringue
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Recent Examples of gradually
What began with planters for unusual desert plants gradually evolved into sculpture.
—
Daniel Cassady, ARTnews.com, 8 June 2026
Fiber increases work best gradually Adding more fiber can be good for your diet, but suddenly doubling your intake can backfire.
—Ryan Brennan, Miami Herald, 8 June 2026
As a result of washing, heat styling, and sun exposure, color gradually becomes less intense.
—Giulia Lenzi, Vogue, 8 June 2026
Baking soda isn't a cure-all for digestive discomfort, but proper soaking, discarding the soaking liquid, and gradually increasing your bean intake may help.
—Kathleen Ferraro, Verywell Health, 8 June 2026
Walker left soon afterward, and the two women gradually began talking about what had happened.
—Heidi Blake, New Yorker, 8 June 2026
The goal now is to gradually expand the robot’s autonomous capabilities through reinforcement-learning systems trained to handle increasingly difficult terrain.
—Kaif Shaikh, Interesting Engineering, 8 June 2026
Temperatures will gradually cool back through the 70s and into the 60s this evening.
—Cutter Martin, CBS News, 8 June 2026
Armenia has been gradually moving away from Russia’s orbit in recent years.
—Nathan Hodge, CNN Money, 8 June 2026
Daniel Cassady, ARTnews.com, 8 June 2026
Fiber increases work best gradually Adding more fiber can be good for your diet, but suddenly doubling your intake can backfire.
—Ryan Brennan, Miami Herald, 8 June 2026
As a result of washing, heat styling, and sun exposure, color gradually becomes less intense.
—Giulia Lenzi, Vogue, 8 June 2026
Baking soda isn't a cure-all for digestive discomfort, but proper soaking, discarding the soaking liquid, and gradually increasing your bean intake may help.
—Kathleen Ferraro, Verywell Health, 8 June 2026
Walker left soon afterward, and the two women gradually began talking about what had happened.
—Heidi Blake, New Yorker, 8 June 2026
The goal now is to gradually expand the robot’s autonomous capabilities through reinforcement-learning systems trained to handle increasingly difficult terrain.
—Kaif Shaikh, Interesting Engineering, 8 June 2026
Temperatures will gradually cool back through the 70s and into the 60s this evening.
—Cutter Martin, CBS News, 8 June 2026
Armenia has been gradually moving away from Russia’s orbit in recent years.
—Nathan Hodge, CNN Money, 8 June 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for gradually
Adverb
-
Yes votes for Measure ER, which only needs 50% of the vote plus one for approval, have slowly gained day after day as more ballots — and in particular, ballots from Election Day or later — were counted.—
Steve Scauzillo,
Daily News,
10 June 2026
-
And then, slowly, something incredible unfolds.—
USA TODAY Network,
USA Today,
10 June 2026
Adverb
-
Operations began in the Treasure Island Beach area where the girl was last seen and progressively expanded based on ocean conditions, currents and waves.—
Clara Harter,
Los Angeles Times,
10 June 2026
-
Cognitive skills generally improve with deliberate, focused and progressively more challenging training.—
Supreet Kaur,
Scientific American,
10 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Gradually.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/gradually. Accessed 12 Jun. 2026.
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