gradation
/ɡɹəˈdeɪʃən/US/ɡɹəˈdeɪʃən/
gradation noun: a sequence of gradual, successive stages; a systematic progression.
Noun
gradation (countable and uncountable, plural gradations)
- A sequence of gradual, successive stages; a systematic progression.
- A passing by small degrees from one tone or shade, as of color, to another.
- A decade ago, the British department-store chain John Lewis built itself a long warehouse, painted in gradations of sky blue.2019 November 21, Samanth Subramanian, “How our home delivery habit reshaped the world”, in The Guardian
- Synonyms:
- nuance
- The act of gradating or arranging in grades.
- Any degree or relative position in an order or series.
- the several gradations of the intelligent universe1832, [Isaac Taylor], Saturday Evening. […], London: Holdsworth and Ball, →OCLC
- Two distinct types of lupus erythematosus are recognized: [1] chronic or discoid, which is essentially a skin lesion, and [2] severe systemic, designated as acute. Between the two types are many gradations to which the term subacute has been applied.1954 February 15, Henry E. Michelson, “The Syndrome of Lupus Erythematosus”, in Modern Medicine, volume 22, number 4, Minneapolis, Minn.: Modern Medicine Publications, Inc., page 96
- A calibration marking.
- A gradual change within one parameter, or an overlapping of two blocks of sound.
- A diatonic succession of chords.
- Ablaut.
Verb
gradation (third-person singular simple present gradations, present participle gradationing, simple past and past participle gradationed)
- To form with gradations.
gradation meaning in Tamil, Marathi, Urdu and Malayalam
gradation in Tamil
- தரப்படுத்தல், படிநிலை, தரப்படுத்துதல், படிப்படியான மாற்றம், படிநிலை மாற்றம்
gradation in Marathi
- gradation; relative difference; comparison according to degree or importance
- तारतम्य tāratamya
gradation in Urdu
- تدریج
gradation in Malayalam
- scale, range, spectrum
- തരംതിരിവ്, തരംതിരിക്കൽ, വകതിരിവ്, ക്രമീകരണം, അനുക്രമം, ഗണം
- rank, level, grade
- ശ്രേണി, പദം, ക്രമം, തലം, നില, വിതാനം
More languagesFewer languages
- gradation in Kannada
- ಪರಿವರ್ತನೆಯ ಹಂತಗಳು, ಪರಿವರ್ತನೆಯ ಮಜಲುಗಳು, ಮುನ್ನಡೆಯ ಮೆಟ್ಟಿಲುಗಳು, ವರ್ಗೀಕರಣ
- gradation in Arabic
- تَدَرُّج tadarruj, تَدْرِيج tadrīj
Examples of gradation in a sentence
- It is not the median or midpoint or gradation between the two.
- This qualitative vowel gradation is not connected with screeve (unlike Georgian).
- That is because the indexing of the colors does not allow for the subtle gradations of color required by this photo.
Synonyms of gradation
Forms of gradation
| Noun | |
|---|---|
| plural | gradations |
| Verb | |
| third-person singular present | gradations |
| present participle | gradationing |
| past participle | gradationed |
| past | gradationed |
Origin of gradation
Borrowed from French gradation. By surface analysis, grade + -ation.
Words formed from gradation
Words that rhyme with gradation
- station
- collation
- accommodation
- presentation
- derivation
- information
- modulation
- translation
- application
- fixation
- generation
- orientation
48 more rhymesFewer rhymes
- citation
- combination
- communication
- conjugation
- constellation
- determination
- elevation
- operation
- relation
- reservation
- alternation
- condensation
- conversation
- deviation
- excavation
- foliation
- formation
- foundation
- incarnation
- interpretation
- representation
- retardation
- speculation
- termination
- abbreviation
- adaptation
- articulation
- bifurcation
- concentration
- congregation
- declination
- degradation
- expectation
- extenuation
- observation
- population
- preparation
- reconciliation
- rotation
- separation
- situation
- vexation
- vindication
- accumulation
- administration
- aggregation
- appropriation
- attenuation
Questions about gradation
- What does gradation mean?
- Gradation means a sequence of gradual, successive stages; a systematic progression.
- What is gradation in Tamil?
- Gradation in Tamil is தரப்படுத்தல், படிநிலை, தரப்படுத்துதல். See Gradation meaning in Tamil.
- What part of speech is gradation?
- Gradation can be a noun or a verb.
- How do you pronounce gradation?
- Gradation is pronounced /ɡɹəˈdeɪʃən/ (UK).
- What is the plural of gradation?
- The plural of gradation is gradations.
Words near gradation in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: gradation (page history and authors); gradation (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); तारतम्य (Marathi) (page history and authors); gradation (Urdu Wiktionary) (page history and authors); gradation (Olam, E.K. Kurup corpus) (dataset and license); gradation (Kannada Wiktionary) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-gradation.wav.
Cite this entry: “gradation.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/gradation. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.