gradual
adjective /ˈɡrædʒuəl/
/ˈɡrædʒuəl/
- happening slowly over a long period; not sudden
- a gradual change in the climate
- Recovery from the disease is very gradual.
- (of a slope) not steep
Word Originlate Middle English: from medieval Latin gradualis, from Latin gradus ‘step’. The original sense of the adjective was ‘arranged in degrees’.