gradation
/ɡɹəˈdeɪʃən/
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.40 in modern English
11
Scrabble Score
9
Letters
3
Syllables
8
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
A passing by small degrees from one tone or shade, as of color, to another.
Countable; Uncountable
Example Sentences
- "A decade ago, the British department-store chain John Lewis built itself a long warehouse, painted in gradations of sky blue."
- "the several gradations of the intelligent universe"
- "Two distinct types of lupus erythematosus are recognized: [1] chronic or discoid, which is essentially a skin lesion, and [2] severe systemic, designated as acute. Between the two types are many gradations to which the term subacute has been applied."
Etymology
Origin
- Source language: French
Word Breakdown
- Root: gradation
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ɡɹəˈdeɪʃən/
- British English: /ɡɹəˈdeɪʃən/