adjective
COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES
a gradual improvement
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There has been a gradual improvement in educational standards.
a gradual reduction
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The markets are hoping for a gradual reduction in interest rates.
a gradual shift
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There has been a gradual shift in people’s attitudes towards cars.
gradual
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After 1870, there was a gradual decline of the disease.
gradual
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There has been a gradual change in the weather.
gradual (= happening slowly )
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Her temperature chart showed a gradual increase over the preceding six hours.
gradual
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Elections will be held in the course of a gradual transition from military to civilian rule.
gradual/continuous evolution
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The social system is undergoing continuous evolution to adapt to these rapid changes.
gradual/steady erosion
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There has been a steady erosion of the court's powers over the last ten years.
COLLOCATIONS FROM CORPUS
■ ADVERB
more
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No initial peak was seen in costs in the under 5s and the increase up to the 75-84 age group was more gradual .
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As for the partners in her practice, they had to agree to a more gradual plan for building the practice.
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John Major's rejection of the policies and principles held by his political predecessor has been much more gradual .
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Recurrence of severe headache should immediately signal the need to increase the dosage and to subsequently reduce it in more gradual decrements.
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The process is more gradual than can be the case on a major.
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Arteaga and Alarcon have publicly opposed the extreme economic measures Bucaram had announced, while supporting more gradual reform.
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But the ministers favoured a more gradual approach, entailing unanimity at each stage.
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The low incidence of early ventricular fibrillation is probably due to a more gradual opening of the vessel than was once thought.
very
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The onset of the disease is very gradual and breathlessness only becomes troublesome when about half of the lung has been destroyed.
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The consolation, as Trondur pointed out, was that the process was still very gradual .
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With very gradual familiarisation training spread over many months of flying, some of these students have been completely cured.
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Keep yourself on a very gradual withdrawal schedule.
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In many ways a power reduction is more difficult to deal with, especially if the reduction is very gradual but progressive.
■ NOUN
approach
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Now 33, Tabkay told of his gradual approach to Buddhism from his days as a student at university in Norwich.
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When I suggest this gradual approach , parents inevitably worry about spoiling.
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But the ministers favoured a more gradual approach , entailing unanimity at each stage.
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While Teng said she preferred taking her more gradual approach to extending voting rights, she said she supported the initiative.
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And it is possible to help by a low-key, unthreatening, gradual approach , building trust over a number of months.
change
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It is a curious paradox that evolution and gradual change were linked with revolution and sudden change.
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Whether as a result of this or coincidentally, his body embarked on a series of coordinated gradual changes .
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True, rather than making wholesale changes , gradual changes should be made.
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The people were undergoing a gradual change in political outlook.
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Rather there was a gradual change in tone and emphasis but one that should not be exaggerated.
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A gradual change observed over the course of several days is called a trend.
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Extreme fluctuations in climate are more likely to have a detectable effect on man's settlement patterns than gradual changes .
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But keep in mind that this is usually a slow and gradual change .
decline
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General cargo continued to flow through the port but there was a gradual decline in dock activity.
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Instead, we will see a gradual decline of direct supervision as teams mature.
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The gradual decline and progressively more severe consequences are not predictable.
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I have seen the gradual decline .
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The gradual decline of the latter adversely affected the congregation.
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Because tuberculosis affects women more than men, the gradual decline of that disease benefited female survival.
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In contrast, there has been a gradual decline in local authority provision.
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At the same time, a gradual decline set in with the advent of freight transportation on the roads.
deterioration
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More of the gradual deterioration of the relationship into nagging on her part and lying on his.
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Its presence suggests gradual deterioration of one of the reagents or instrument components. 60.
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Helping and caring Very often the resident is aware of this gradual deterioration and the drawing towards the end of life.
development
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The gradual development of cohesive political units with important leaders of lineages will have extended and strengthened this pattern.
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According to Piaget, a number of factors prompt the gradual development of the will.
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We can not do this overnight, but it can be achieved with gradual development over a number of years.
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Many of the gradual developments are likely to come from groups in the Oxford environment.
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You will see the gradual development of a less self-centred view in your child's play.
emergence
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All of the capacities could have evolved independently, but then obtained further impetus for change from the gradual emergence of language.
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Eventually the recovery becomes incomplete and we can see the gradual emergence of chronic disease.
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The humanist Renaissance of the late Middle Ages had already witnessed the gradual emergence of reasoning independent of the church.
erosion
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Furthermore, long-standing untreated gonorrhoea and syphilis cause joint swelling and inflammation with the gradual erosion of complete joints in severe cases.
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The condition is characterized by spinal cysts and the gradual erosion of spinal nerves.
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Hence, since the late 1960s there has been a gradual erosion of the line between sales promotion and advertising.
evolution
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Such continuous variables foster continuous and gradual evolution .
improvement
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These show that there has been a gradual improvement in girls' performance in mathematics relative to that of boys.
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It builds on what it has done well, drawing strength from small triumphs and symptoms of gradual improvement .
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The amount of pigmentation tends to increase slightly with age up to adolescence and brings with it a gradual improvement in visual acuity.
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Terry didn't believe in social workers, left-wing politicians, radical lawyers, liberals or gradual improvement .
increase
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The problem was resolved by a gradual increase in the social division of labour.
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A review of her temperature chart showed a gradual increase over the preceding eight hours.
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The gradual increase and specialization of radio channels disintegrated the audience.
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The main innovation was the gradual increase in the number of Sri Lankan magistrates and judges.
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A falling mortality rate led to a gradual increase in the proportion of the aged in the population.
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For women, a pattern of gradual increase was seen by birth cohort in all age groups.
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But from 1941 onwards there was a gradual increase in optimism.
loss
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And one of the distinctive features of life here has been a gradual loss of the ability to distinguish right from wrong.
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What factors cause the gradual loss of the moss and what can be done to restore the moss?
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From 326 onwards pagan temples began to suffer the gradual loss of old endowments.
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The result of a build-up of scale is boiler noise and a gradual loss of boiler efficiency.
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I suffered acutely, both from the gradual loss of faith and from the necessity of silence.
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Also there is a gradual loss of function of some brain cells which can result in forgetfulness and sometimes confusion.
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If continued for months and years, such exposure will result in soiling of the wood surface and gradual loss of fibre.
process
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Relearning is a longer, gradual process with ups and downs and it is too easy just to give up.
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Once again, this is a gradual process .
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Conran's transition from manufacturing to retailing was a gradual process .
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This will be a gradual process .
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This gradual process was in its way just as significant as the more dramatic annexations of former Angevin territories.
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The same gradual process will be needed to help a child become less aggressive.
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A working relationship is built by a gradual process of growing confidence and trust.
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Poisoning by laudanum, or other opium derivatives, is a comparatively gradual process .
reduction
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He then discussed this with the general practitioner and gradual reduction of the antidepressant was initiated.
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The effect is generally noted in the first week when a gradual reduction in the frequency of wetting is noted.
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Other targets included the elimination of public waste, a gradual reduction of interest rates and the liberalization of investment regulations.
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Increased output has enabled most NICs to experience rising percapita income and a gradual reduction in poverty within their societies.
shift
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This involvement testifies to a gradual shift of emphasis from the sectarian to the collaborative.
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That gradual shift in attitudes was first seen in the 1992 presidential debates between Bill Clinton and George Bush.
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This is a gradual shift in social attitudes.
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Those last years saw a gradual shift from the somnambulance and uncertain awakenings of my earlier time in college.
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With the end of the medieval period, however, a gradual shift in viewpoint took place.
transition
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The development of Mosley's economic ideas in the 1920s showed a gradual transition from a socialist to a nationalist Perspective.
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The programmes were broadly similar in their call for a gradual transition to the market and a return to more state control.
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Ageing has to be recognized as a process, a gradual transition , rather than a once-for-all event.
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
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Because the cell destruction is gradual , a victim's pancreas can function normally for years.
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I had noticed a gradual improvement in her written work.
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Over the past year, her friends have noticed gradual changes in her behavior.
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The chart showed a gradual rise in his temperature over the previous eight hours.
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We're seeing gradual improvement in labor conditions.
EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS
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According to Piaget, a number of factors prompt the gradual development of the will.
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As with all drama work, it's important to move forward at an appropriate pace, to aim for gradual progression.
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Some central features of narrative construction were studied, including the gradual embellishment of stories and their emotional content.
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Technological change, however, is less blatant, more insidious, more gradual and more effective.
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The Annual Registers record the gradual transformation of the Krankoor family name.
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The path is marked, the rise gradual , the sunlight bright and playful filtering through the leaves.
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To be sure, the generational shift has been gradual .
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You will see the gradual development of a less self-centred view in your child's play.