From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishgradationgra‧da‧tion /ɡrəˈdeɪʃən/ noun [countable]formalCHANGE/BECOME DIFFERENT a small change or difference between points on a scale
There are many gradations of colour between light and dark blue.Examples from the Corpusgradation• The film can display over 4000 gradations of color.• The construction of a gradationscheme is clearly no simpletask.• With sandgrouse it lies in a delicategradation of one mutedtone into another.• Everyone inside knows or speculates endlessly on the politics of power implicit in the most minute gradations of change.• National horticultural markets have widevariations in price, seasonal effects, methods of selling and quality gradations.• The classhierarchy is alive and well in the gradations through the 250 different decorations which the Crownawards.• Sometimes the gradation is clear, and sometimes less so, but order nested within order is all around.
