From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Gradual \Grad"u*al"\; a. [Cf; F. graduel. See {Grade}, and cf. {Gradual}, noun] Proceeding by steps or degrees; advancing, step by step, as in ascent or descent or from one state to another; regularly progressive; slow; as, a gradual increase of knowledge; a gradual decline.
Creatures animate with gradual life Of growth, sense, reason, all summed up in man. --Milton.
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Gradual \Grad"u*al\, noun [LL. graduale a gradual (in sense 1), fr. L. gradus step: cf. F. graduel. See {Grade}, and cf. {Grail} a gradual.]
1. (R. C. Ch.) (a) An antiphon or responsory after the epistle, in the Mass, which was sung on the steps, or while the deacon ascended the steps. (b) A service book containing the musical portions of the Mass.
2. A series of steps. [Obs.] --Dryden.
From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:
adjective
1: proceeding in small stages; "a gradual increase in prices" [ant: {sudden}]
2: of a topographical gradient; not steep or abrupt; "a gradual slope" [ant: {steep}]
noun
1: (Roman Catholic Church) an antiphon (usually from the Book of Psalms) immediately after the epistle at Mass
From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:
68 Moby Thesaurus words for "gradual": ambling, cautious, circumspect, claudicant, crawling, creeping, creeping like snail, deliberate, dilatory, easy, even, faltering, flagging, foot-dragging, gentle, halting, hobbled, hobbling, idle, inchmeal, indolent, lagging, languid, languorous, lazy, leisurely, limping, lumbering, moderate, piecemeal, poking, poky, regular, relaxed, reluctant, sauntering, shuffling, slack, slothful, slow, slow as death, slow as molasses, slow as slow, slow-crawling, slow-foot, slow-going, slow-legged, slow-moving, slow-paced, slow-poky, slow-running, slow-sailing, slow-stepped, sluggish, snail-paced, snaillike, staggering, steady, step-by-step, strolling, tentative, toddling, tortoiselike, tottering, trudging, turtlelike, unhurried, waddling
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