Meanings
comparative more gradually · superlative most gradually
- In a gradual manner; making slow progress; slowly.
The most likely conclusion, the researchers say, is that the Levallois method was not taken to Eurasia by African migrants, but evolved there gradually and independently.
2014 September 29, Douglas Quenqua, “Toolmaking May Have Risen Independently”, in The New York Times, archived from the original on 01 Oct 20141 more example
The instrument of this dumbing down in Nineteen Eighty-Four was Newspeak, the official language of the English Socialist Party (Ingsoc). Newspeak was a sort of Totalitarian Esperanto that sought gradually to diminish the range of what was thinkable by eliminating, contracting and manufacturing words.
2021 January 5, Peter Foster, “Peter Foster: Sustainable Newspeak by 2050”, in Financial Post, archived from the original on 31 Mar 2021Synonyms: ponderously
- obsoleteBy degrees.
Horns, upon the due accession of Moisture, doth gradually become Soft.
1682, Nehemiah Grew, The Anatomy of Plants. […], [London]: […] W. Rawlins, for the author, published 1682, →OCLCSynonyms: incrementally
Synonyms & antonyms
adverbIn a gradual manner; making slow progress; slowly.
adverbBy degrees.
More synonyms by meaning
adverbin a gradual manner
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
Translations
Arabic شَيْئاً فَشَيْئاً, خُطْوةً فَخُطْوةً
- شَيْئاً فَشَيْئاً (šayʔan fašayʔan)in gradual manner
- خُطْوةً فَخُطْوةً (ḵuṭwatan faḵuṭwatan)in gradual manner
- تَدْرِيجِيّاً (tadrījiyyan)in gradual manner
- على تدريج (ʕalā tadrīj)in gradual manner
Bulgarian постепенно
- постепенно (postepenno)in gradual manner
Catalan gradualment
- gradualmentin gradual manner
Chinese Mandarin 逐漸 /逐渐, 漸漸 /渐渐
- 逐漸 /逐渐 (zhújiàn)in gradual manner
- 漸漸 /渐渐 (jiànjiàn)in gradual manner
- 漸次 /渐次 (jiàncì)in gradual manner
Czech postupně
- postupněin gradual manner
Danish gradvis
- gradvisin gradual manner
Dutch geleidelijk, allengs
- geleidelijkin gradual manner
- allengsin gradual manner
- gaandewegin gradual manner
- langzamerhandin gradual manner
Esperanto grade, malabrupte
- gradein gradual manner
- malabruptein gradual manner
Finnish asteittain, vähitellen
- asteittainin gradual manner
- vähitellenin gradual manner
German nach und nach, allmählich
- nach und nachin gradual manner
- allmählichin gradual manner
- stufenweisein gradual manner
- schrittweisein gradual manner
Greek βαθμιαία, σταδιακά
- βαθμιαία (vathmiaía)in gradual manner
- σταδιακά (stadiaká)in gradual manner
Hungarian fokozatosan
- fokozatosanin gradual manner
Italian gradualmente
- gradualmentein gradual manner
Japanese 段々と, 徐々に
- 段々と (dandan to)in gradual manner
- 徐々に (jojo ni)in gradual manner
- 次第に (shidai ni)in gradual manner
Korean 점점, 점차
- 점점 (jeomjeom)in gradual manner
- 점차 (jeomcha)in gradual manner
- 서서히 (seoseohi)in gradual manner
Latin paulātim, gradātim
- paulātimin gradual manner
- gradātimin gradual manner
Norwegian Bokmål etter hvert, gradvis
- etter hvertin gradual manner
- gradvisin gradual manner
- litt etter littin gradual manner
Polish stopniowo, krok po kroku
- stopniowoin gradual manner
- krok po krokuin gradual manner
Portuguese gradualmente, pouco a pouco
- gradualmentein gradual manner
- pouco a poucoin gradual manner
Romanian treptat, în mod gradat
- treptatin gradual manner
- în mod gradatin gradual manner
- progresivin gradual manner
- în mod treptatin gradual manner
Russian постепе́нно
- постепе́нно (postepénno)in gradual manner
Scottish Gaelic mean air mhean
- mean air mheanin gradual manner
Slovak postupne
- postupnein gradual manner
Spanish gradualmente, paulatinamente
- gradualmentein gradual manner
- paulatinamentein gradual manner
Swedish gradvis
- gradvisin gradual manner
Ukrainian поступо́во, пово́лі
- поступо́во (postupóvo)in gradual manner
- пово́лі (povóli)in gradual manner
Vietnamese dần dần
- dần dầnin gradual manner
Cite this entry
gradually. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/gradually
“gradually.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/gradually. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “gradually,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/gradually.
Source: gradually on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.