gradually A2 Topic:Time Also spelled gradiwally US /ˈɡɹæd͡ʒuəli/ See IPA manual Freq #7739 Meanings 1 adv Slowly, in small steps over a period of time. The weather gradually became warmer as spring arrived. Thesaurus Synonyms 1 adv · slowly, in small steps over... bit by bitstep by stepincrementally More continuallyfootmealgradatimmomentarilymomentlyprogressivelysluggishlystepmealunsuddenly ↔ Opposites abruptlysuddenlysuddently Word family Related forms consecutivelysequentiallyseriatimslow Etymology AI details From gradual + -ly. Topics Time External links Cambridge Dictionary Wiktionary Google Images # gradually **Type:** Word **Level:** A2 **Part of speech:** adv **IPA (US):** /ˈɡɹæd͡ʒuəli/ **Frequency rank:** 7739 ## Meanings 1. Slowly, in small steps over a period of time. ## Examples - The weather gradually became warmer as spring arrived. ## Synonyms - continually - footmeal - gradatim - momentarily - momently - progressively - sluggishly - stepmeal - unsuddenly ## Antonyms - abruptly - suddenly - suddently ## Related Forms - consecutively - sequentially - seriatim - slow ## Etymology From gradual + -ly. ## AI Etymology Gradually comes from gradual + -ly. The analysis is mainly morphological: the modern adverbial form is built from the named base and affix. In current use, the main sense is “Slowly, in small steps over a period of time”. ## Topics - Time markdown