gradation
gradation Lexical Profile
gradation Game Scores & Validity
• noun
A series of successive stages, degrees, or ranks, or a gradual transition from one state, tone, or color to another.
"The painting is admired for its subtle gradation of light and shadow across the horizon."
An individual stage, degree, or shade within a sequential scale or series.
"The human eye can distinguish hundreds of fine gradations of green in a summer forest."
In linguistics, a regular alternation of vowels in related word forms (such as 'sing', 'sang', 'sung') that indicates grammatical distinctions.
"Indo-European vowel gradation accounts for the irregular past tense forms of many strong English verbs."
Word Nuance & Usage
Do not confuse 'gradation' (a gradual series of stages or subtle transitions) with 'graduation' (the completion of a course of study or the marking of a scale with measurement lines).
• Rhymes for gradation
Word Origin & Etymology
Borrowed in the mid-16th century from Latin 'gradatio' (meaning 'a series of steps' or 'climax'), derived from 'gradus' ('step' or 'degree').