Gradual

gradual
    adj 1: proceeding in small stages; "a gradual increase in
           prices" [ant: {sudden}]
    2: (of a topographical gradient) not steep or abrupt; "a gradual
       slope" [ant: {steep}]
    n 1: (Roman Catholic Church) an antiphon (usually from the Book
         of Psalms) immediately after the epistle at Mass
    

Gradual \Grad"u*al"\; a. [Cf; F. graduel. See {Grade}, and cf.
   {Gradual}, n.]
   Proceeding by steps or degrees; advancing, step by step, as
   in ascent or descent or from one state to another; regularly
   progressive; slow; as, a gradual increase of knowledge; a
   gradual decline.
   [1913 Webster]

         Creatures animate with gradual life
         Of growth, sense, reason, all summed up in man.
                                                  --Milton.
   [1913 Webster]
    

Gradual \Grad"u*al\, n. [LL. graduale a gradual (in sense 1),
   fr. L. gradus step: cf. F. graduel. See {Grade}, and cf.
   {Grail} a gradual.]
   1. (R. C. Ch.)
      (a) An antiphon or responsory after the epistle, in the
          Mass, which was sung on the steps, or while the deacon
          ascended the steps.
      (b) A service book containing the musical portions of the
          Mass.
          [1913 Webster]

   2. A series of steps. [Obs.] --Dryden.
      [1913 Webster]
    

68 Moby Thesaurus words for "gradual":
      ambling, cautious, circumspect, claudicant, crawling, creeping,
      creeping like snail, deliberate, dilatory, easy, even, faltering,
      flagging, foot-dragging, gentle, halting, hobbled, hobbling, idle,
      inchmeal, indolent, lagging, languid, languorous, lazy, leisurely,
      limping, lumbering, moderate, piecemeal, poking, poky, regular,
      relaxed, reluctant, sauntering, shuffling, slack, slothful, slow,
      slow as death, slow as molasses, slow as slow, slow-crawling,
      slow-foot, slow-going, slow-legged, slow-moving, slow-paced,
      slow-poky, slow-running, slow-sailing, slow-stepped, sluggish,
      snail-paced, snaillike, staggering, steady, step-by-step,
      strolling, tentative, toddling, tortoiselike, tottering, trudging,
      turtlelike, unhurried, waddling