How to Use gradual in a Sentence

gradual

adjective
  • The hospital has made gradual improvements in health care.
  • We noticed a gradual change in temperature.
  • The cooldown in the hottest spots will be gradual.
    — Rick Hurd, Mercury News, 9 June 2026
  • But it's been a gradual build-up for our whole team and for him to this point.
    — Joe Morgan, Fox News, 23 Sep. 2023
  • There are some hints of gradual warm-up early next week.
    — Steven Sosna, CBS News, 27 Apr. 2026
  • And, uh, there was a sort of gradual buildup to finding it.
    — Deborah Unger, Scientific American, 5 Nov. 2025
  • That's why the changes will be gradual, not a single spike.
    — Hugh Cameron, MSNBC Newsweek, 3 Sep. 2025
  • On the fair floor, that change felt more gradual than sweeping.
    — Daniel Cassady, ARTnews.com, 14 Apr. 2026
  • Her rise to local fame has been gradual.
    — Xitlalic Montelongo, Miami Herald, 25 Mar. 2026
  • When turns must be made in the lawn, make wide, gradual turns to limit wear.
    — Kim Toscano, Southern Living, 25 June 2026
  • When turns must be made in the lawn, make wide, gradual turns to limit wear.
    — Kim Toscano, Southern Living, 10 Apr. 2026
  • The road, lined with two-story homes on each side, slopes down a gradual hill.
    — Kendrick Calfee, Kansas City Star, 14 Jan. 2026
  • Then came a breakthrough, but a gradual one.
    — Los Angeles Times, 14 Feb. 2026
  • Yet there are signs of gradual thawing.
    — Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 21 Mar. 2026
  • The transition process will be gradual and will take up to one year, the firm added.
    — Byben Weiss, Fortune Crypto, 27 Sep. 2023
  • Or is this a more of a long, gradual slide leading up to the crisis of this year?
    — David Frum, The Atlantic, 17 June 2026
  • Sikura said those trends were too gradual to cause a 24% sales bump in one year.
    — Hayley Cuccinello, CNBC, 25 Sep. 2025
  • Enter a ravine and follow gradual switchbacks to a small mesa at the top.
    — Madison Chapman, Outside, 25 Mar. 2026
  • This trend has been coupled with a gradual shrinking of the welfare state.
    — Miranda Sheild Johansson, Fortune, 22 Jan. 2026
  • Renuvion results are gradual and take a few months to settle in.
    — Michelle Lee, PEOPLE, 7 June 2026
  • Service has since resumed at a gradual pace.
    — Rachel Wolf, FOXNews.com, 30 Dec. 2025
  • Had there been a gradual leak, the mission would have been quickly aborted.
    — Joel Achenbach, BostonGlobe.com, 22 June 2023
  • The mound’s slope is gradual and grassy, its summit shadowed by mature live oaks.
    — Kiley Bense, Smithsonian Magazine, 9 Jan. 2024
  • Use jig and pigs 18 to 25 feet deep along brush piles or main lake points with a gradual slope.
    — Arkansas Online, 16 Sep. 2025
  • If your goal is to lose weight and maintain it, focus on gradual weight loss instead of fast weight loss.
    — Sohaib Imtiaz, Verywell Health, 5 Jan. 2026
  • If your goal is to lose weight and maintain it, focus on gradual weight loss instead of fast weight loss.
    — Sohaib Imtiaz, Verywell Health, 15 Sep. 2025
  • That’s pretty much par for the course compared to past seasons, but there has been one gradual change.
    — Tony Baranek, Chicago Tribune, 5 May 2026
  • Komatsu felt the process had to remain gradual in any case.
    — Luke Smith, New York Times, 8 Apr. 2026
  • Even when the strait opens, any supply recovery will be gradual.
    — Bloomberg, Oc Register, 8 Apr. 2026
  • The ramp is very gradual and organic.
    — Eric Ryan, Forbes.com, 20 Jan. 2026

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'gradual.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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