by degrees
IdiomsExample Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
These were all private-sphere relationships defined by degrees of dominance and subordination.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 1, 2026
Sir Geoffrey said: "Both government and the BBC should seriously think about how the World Service's influence can be bolstered around the world, rather than risk its reach withering by degrees year on year."
From BBC ● Mar. 12, 2026
Even after the Nazis invade Poland, halfway through the opening episode, things advance by degrees, so that the next worst thing can’t quite be imagined, and once imagined really believed.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 28, 2024
Arti Gollapudi plays all three of Deepali’s older sisters, for example, differing mainly by degrees of uptightness.
From New York Times ● Nov. 20, 2023
His adrenal gland, by degrees, ceased jumping its several secretions into his bloodstream; his heart slowed to normal, his breathing became less frantic.
From "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" by Philip K. Dick
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
