D defs.my
Entry 3 senses · 2 variants Webster, 1913

Gradatory

· Grad·a·to·ry · IPA
01 a. Proceeding step by step, or by gradations; gradual.
  1. 1.
    Proceeding step by step, or by gradations; gradual.
    “Could we have seen [Macbeth's] crimes darkening on their progress . . . could this gradatory apostasy have been shown us.” — A. Seward.
  2. 2.
    Suitable for walking; -- said of the limbs of an animal when adapted for walking on land.(Zool.)
02 n. A series of steps from a cloister into a church.
  1. 1.
    A series of steps from a cloister into a church.(Arch.)