progression

[pruh-gresh-uhn]

noun

1. the act of progressing; forward or onward movement.

2. a passing successively from one member of a series to the next; succession; sequence.

3. Mathematics.,  a succession of quantities in which there is a constant relation between each member and the one succeeding it.

4. Music.,  the manner in which chords or melodic tones follow one another; a succession of chords or tones.

5. Astrology.,  any of a variety of methods of comparing the natal chart to subsequent planetary positions in order to establish an optimum time to accomplish things or to establish the probable time an event occurred or will occur.

progression

/ prəˈɡrɛʃən /

noun

1. the act of progressing; advancement

2. the act or an instance of moving from one thing or unit in a sequence to the next

3. maths a sequence of numbers in which each term differs from the succeeding term by a constant relation See also arithmetic progression geometric progression harmonic progression

4. music movement, esp of a logical kind, from one note to the next ( melodic progression ) or from one chord to the next ( harmonic progression )

5. astrology one of several calculations, based on the movement of the planets, from which it is supposed that one can find the expected developments in a person's birth chart and the probable trends of circumstances for a year in his life

Other Word Forms

• progressional adjective
• progressionally adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of progression¹

First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English, from Latin prōgressiōn-, stem of prōgressiō “advancement, forward movement”; equivalent to progress + -ion

Example Sentences

“Black Magic,” with a jittery descending chord progression filled with tension, is the record’s only faster song.

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Now, doctors screen newborns for spinal muscular atrophy, and Zolgensma has shown efficacy at preventing progression External link of the disease over the long term.

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The company said that some biological measures improved in patients who had received the drug, but that there was no slowing of the progression of the disease.

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The company said Monday that the ingredient, called semaglutide, wasn’t superior to a placebo in reducing the progression of Alzheimer’s disease in the studies.

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The goal was to determine whether the progression of new social ties matched expectations from earlier work on the idea of testing the waters.

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Related Words

• advancement 
• breakthrough 
• evolution