GRADUAL

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 Dictionary entry overview: What does gradual mean? 

• GRADUAL (noun)
  The noun GRADUAL has 1 sense:

1. (Roman Catholic Church) an antiphon (usually from the Book of Psalms) immediately after the epistle at Mass

  Familiarity information: GRADUAL used as a noun is very rare.

• GRADUAL (adjective)
  The adjective GRADUAL has 2 senses:

1. proceeding in small stages

2. (of a topographical gradient) not steep or abrupt

  Familiarity information: GRADUAL used as an adjective is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• GRADUAL (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

(Roman Catholic Church) an antiphon (usually from the Book of Psalms) immediately after the epistle at Mass

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Hypernyms ("gradual" is a kind of...):

antiphon; antiphony (a verse or song to be chanted or sung in response)

Domain category:

Church of Rome; Roman Catholic; Roman Catholic Church; Roman Church; Western Church (the Christian Church based in the Vatican and presided over by a pope and an episcopal hierarchy)

• GRADUAL (adjective)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Proceeding in small stages

Context example:

a gradual increase in prices

Similar:

bit-by-bit; in small stages; piecemeal; step-by-step; stepwise (one thing at a time)

gradational; gradatory; graduated (taking place by degrees)

Also:

slow (not moving quickly; taking a comparatively long time)

Antonym:

sudden (happening without warning or in a short space of time)

Derivation:

graduality; gradualness (the quality of being gradual or of coming about by gradual stages)

Sense 2

Meaning:

(of a topographical gradient) not steep or abrupt

Context example:

a gradual slope

Similar:

easy; gentle (marked by moderate steepness)

sloping (having a slanting form or direction)

Also:

inclined (at an angle to the horizontal or vertical position)

Antonym:

steep (having a sharp inclination)

Derivation:

grade (the gradient of a slope or road or other surface)

gradualness (the property possessed by a slope that is very gradual)

 Context examples 

A disorder characterized by gradual and usually permanent loss of kidney function resulting in renal failure.

(Chronic Kidney Disease, NCI Thesaurus/CTCAE)

Activation of lymphocytes results in the disappearance of sCTLA-4 followed by its gradual reappearance, whereas CTLA-4 increases after activation.

(Cytotoxic T-Lymphocyte-Associated Protein 4, NCI Thesaurus)

A gradual deterioration or decline to an inferior state.

(Decay, NCI Thesaurus)

Gradual and usually permanent loss of kidney function resulting in renal failure.

(Chronic Kidney Disease, NCI Thesaurus)

Dominant meerkats typically die due to internal stresses on their bodies, resulting in gradual, predictable declines until death.

(Breeder meerkats age faster, but their subordinates still die younger, University of Cambridge)

Decreasing levels of Bmp7 along the length of the basilar papilla map result in a gradual tuning to higher frequencies.

(Hearing different frequencies, NIH)

This contrasts with a much more gradual warming in the northern hemisphere, where temperatures remained stable during the early spring and have shown just a six-degree increase since 2014.

(Cassini Sees Dramatic Seasonal Changes on Titan, NASA)

The gradual irreversible changes in structure and function of an organism that occur as a result of the passage of time.

(Aging, NCI Thesaurus)

Have you observed any gradual alteration in Papa?

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

A gradual decline in amount or activity.

(Loss, NCI Thesaurus)