Gradation
[grə'deɪʃ(ə)n] or [grə'deʃən]
Definition
(noun.) the act of arranging in grades.
(noun.) relative position in a graded series; 'always a step behind'; 'subtle gradations in color'; 'keep in step with the fashions'.
Typed by Hiram--From WordNet
Definition
(n.) The act of progressing by regular steps or orderly arrangement; the state of being graded or arranged in ranks; as, the gradation of castes.
(n.) The act or process of bringing to a certain grade.
(n.) Any degree or relative position in an order or series.
(n.) A gradual passing from one tint to another or from a darker to a lighter shade, as in painting or drawing.
(n.) A diatonic ascending or descending succession of chords.
(v. t.) To form with gradations.
Checker: Merle
Synonyms and Synonymous
n. Regular progress (step by step), regular progression.
Typist: Michael
Synonyms and Antonyms
SYN:Stage, tier, degree, rank, standing, graduation, ordination, arrangement,precedency
ANT:Equality, uniformity, fraternity, abruptness, saltation
Edited by Augustus
Examples
- Why does not every collection of fossil remains afford plain evidence of the gradation and mutation of the forms of life? Charles Darwin. On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection.
- I have attempted to show how much light the principle of gradation throws on the admirable architectural powers of the hive-bee. Charles Darwin. On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection.
- Round the sides of his head--without the slightest gradation of grey to break the force of the extraordinary contrast--it had turned completely white. Wilkie Collins. The Moonstone.
- Thus every gradation, from an ordinary fixed spine to a fixed pedicellariae, would be of service. Charles Darwin. On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection.
- In fishes and reptiles, as Owen has remarked, The range of gradation of dioptric structures is very great. Charles Darwin. On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection.
- It is surprising in how many curious ways this gradation can be shown; but only the barest outline of the facts can here be given. Charles Darwin. On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection.
- Of various admirals I could tell you a great deal: of them and their flags, and the gradation of their pay, and their bickerings and jealousies. Jane Austen. Mansfield Park.
- Let us look to the great principle of gradation, and see whether Nature does not reveal to us her method of work. Charles Darwin. On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection.
- In the different species of geospiza there is a perfect gradation in the size of the beaks, only to be appreciated by seeing the specimens or their ill ustrations. Walter Libby. An Introduction to the History of Science.
- The author (1855) has also treated Psychology on the principle of the necessary acquirement of each mental power and capacity by gradation. Charles Darwin. On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection.
- If such gradations were not all fully preserved, transitional varieties would merely appear as so many new, though closely allied species. Charles Darwin. On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection.
- The plate shows all gradations of intensity--the tidy is dark, the black tie is light. Bertha M. Clark. General Science.
- The idea is to break up the surface into various sized dots, as the various gradations of color on the original cannot be transferred by any other method to a sheet of copper and etched. Various. The Wonder Book of Knowledge.
- And all these gradations can be actually traced. Charles Darwin. On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection.
- That is to say, that the color changes imperceptibly in subtle gradations of light and shade. Various. The Wonder Book of Knowledge.
- Many subsequent improvements have been made, one type of which employs a succession of rolls which act in pairs on the grain one after the other and reduce it by successive gradations. Edward W. Byrn. The Progress of Invention in the Nineteenth Century.
- The _nothing_ of conversation has its gradations, I hope, as well as the _never_. Jane Austen. Mansfield Park.
- Gradations of structure, with each stage beneficial to a changing species, will be favoured only under certain peculiar conditions. Charles Darwin. On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection.
- He was so old and his face was very wrinkled, so that a smile used so many lines that all gradations were lost. Ernest Hemingway. A Farewell To Arms.
- The gradations from leaf-climbers to tendril bearers are wonderfully close, and certain plants may be differently placed in either class. Charles Darwin. On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection.
- So that I think there is little in the advice of making those changes by easy gradations. Benjamin Franklin. Memoirs of Benjamin Franklin.
- Mr. Busk, however, does not know of any gradations now existing between a zooid and an avicularium. Charles Darwin. On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection.
- We should be extremely cautious in concluding that an organ could not have been formed by transitional gradations of some kind. Charles Darwin. On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection.
Editor: Nita