Gradation

//ɡɹəˈdeɪʃən// noun, verb

noun, verb ·Moderate ·High school level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A sequence of gradual, successive stages; a systematic progression. countable, uncountable
  2. 2
    the act of arranging in grades wordnet
  3. 3
    A passing by small degrees from one tone or shade, as of color, to another. countable, uncountable

    "A decade ago, the British department-store chain John Lewis built itself a long warehouse, painted in gradations of sky blue."

  4. 4
    a degree of ablaut wordnet
  5. 5
    The act of gradating or arranging in grades. countable, uncountable
Show 6 more definitions
  1. 6
    relative position in a graded series wordnet
  2. 7
    Any degree or relative position in an order or series. countable, uncountable

    "the several gradations of the intelligent universe"

  3. 8
    A calibration marking. countable
  4. 9
    A gradual change within one parameter, or an overlapping of two blocks of sound. countable, uncountable
  5. 10
    A diatonic succession of chords. countable, uncountable
  6. 11
    Ablaut. countable, uncountable
Verb
  1. 1
    To form with gradations. transitive

Synonyms

All synonyms
ablautacoustic phoneticsapophonyapophonyarrayarticulation

Example

More examples

"A decade ago, the British department-store chain John Lewis built itself a long warehouse, painted in gradations of sky blue."

Etymology

Borrowed from French gradation. By surface analysis, grade + -ation.

Related phrases

consonant gradation

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.