the principle of seeking to achieve social or political changes or goals gradually
gradualism
grad·u·al·ism
noun
The definition of gradualism is the slow and gradual changes that happen within an organism or society to make a better environmental fit for animals and humans.
An example of gradualism is the stripes of a tiger developing over time so they are better able to hide in tall grass.
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gradualism
Webster's New World College Dictionary, Fifth Edition Copyright © 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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gradualism
noun
- The belief in or the policy of advancing toward a goal by gradual, often slow stages.
- Biology The view that evolution proceeds by imperceptibly small, cumulative steps over long periods of time rather than by abrupt, major changes.
Related Forms:
- grad′u·al·ist
noun
- grad′u·al·is′tic
adjective
THE AMERICAN HERITAGE® DICTIONARY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE, FIFTH EDITION by the Editors of the American Heritage Dictionaries. Copyright © 2016, 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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The theory that new species evolve from existing species through gradual, often imperceptible changes rather than through abrupt, major changes. The small changes are believed to result in perceptible changes over long periods of time.
Compare punctuated equilibrium
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Gradualism. (n.d.). In YourDictionary. Retrieved from https://www.yourdictionary.com/Gradualism
Noun
(uncountable)
- (biology) Belief that evolution proceeds at a steady pace, without the sudden development of new species or biological features from one generation to the next.
- (politics) The belief that change ought to be brought about in small, discrete increments rather than in abrupt strokes such as revolutions or uprisings.
English Wiktionary. Available under CC-BY-SA license.
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gradualism - Medical Definition
n.
- The belief in or the policy of advancing toward a goal by gradual, often slow stages.
- Biology The view that evolution proceeds by imperceptibly small, cumulative steps over long periods of time rather than by abrupt, major changes.
Related Forms:
- grad′u·al·ist
n.
- grad′u·al·is′tic
adj.
The American Heritage Dictionary of Medicine © 2018 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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"Gradualism." YourDictionary. LoveToKnow. www.yourdictionary.com/Gradualism.
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Gradualism. (n.d.). In YourDictionary. Retrieved from https://www.yourdictionary.com/Gradualism
