gradually

adverb

GRA-joo-uh-lee/ˈɡɹæd͡ʒuəli/

2 meanings of gradually

1
adverb
In a slow way, making steady progress through small changes over time.
The patient's strength returned gradually over several weeks of therapy.
Prices have risen gradually since the start of the year.
Similarslowly, steadily, progressively, incrementally
Oppositesuddenly, abruptly, quickly
2
adverbobsolete
Through a succession of small steps or stages, one degree at a time.
Horns, upon the due accession of Moisture, doth gradually become Soft.
1682, Nehemiah Grew, The Anatomy of Plants.
Note
An older, stepwise reading in which change arrives in distinct stages rather than as one smooth slide. Nehemiah Grew's The Anatomy of Plants (1682) describes horns that, given enough moisture, "doth gradually become Soft." Modern readers hear the everyday "slowly" sense in such lines and usually lose little. In new writing, say "by degrees" or "step by step" when the separate stages matter.

Use it in a sentence

Write your own sentence with gradually, and AI will tell you whether it fits and which meaning you used.

Origin

Formed from "gradual" combined with the suffix "-ly".