Synonyms

gradually

American

[graj-oo-uh-lee] / ˈgrædʒ u ə li /

adverb

by small degrees or little by little.

The hurricane moved northwestward to northward for two days, gradually weakened to a depression, and then turned eastward.
Over the following decades, the curriculum was gradually expanded, with additional offerings in history, government, languages, geology, and geography.

Other Word Forms

ungradually

adverb

Etymology

Origin of gradually

gradual ( def. ) + -ly

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

It gradually got worse and after waking up in the middle of the night choking and throwing up he said he knew "there was something badly wrong".

From BBC • May 19, 2026

Right now, the market appears “comfortable watching balances tighten gradually without aggressively repricing crude higher, because there remains a broad belief that the strait will reopen before true tank bottoms become visible,” Babin said.

From MarketWatch • May 18, 2026

Unlike gum disease, which commonly causes pain, swelling, or bleeding, infections at the root tip can exist silently while inflammation gradually spreads through the body.

From Science Daily • May 16, 2026

But direct indexing gradually loses steam as a method of generating losses as the market continues to rise.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 16, 2026

A couple of glances from passersby were unmistakably hostile, but gradually I registered that others were merely curious, maybe even admiring.

From "The Red Car to Hollywood" by Jennie Liu

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023