gradation

plural gradations

1. countableuncountableA sequence of gradual, successive stages; a systematic progression.
2. countableuncountableA 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

3. countableuncountableThe act of gradating or arranging in grades.
4. countableuncountableAny degree or relative position in an order or series.

   the several gradations of the intelligent universe

   1832, [Isaac Taylor], Saturday Evening. […], London: Holdsworth and Ball, →OCLC

   1 more example

   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

5. countableA calibration marking.
6. countableuncountableentertainmentA gradual change within one parameter, or an overlapping of two blocks of sound.
7. countableuncountableentertainmentA diatonic succession of chords.
8. countableuncountablehuman sciencesAblaut.

present singular third person gradations · participle present gradationing · participle past gradationed · past gradationed

1. transitiveTo form with gradations.