3 syllables: gra, da, tions. Stress on da.
gray-DAY-shuhnz
/ɡɹeɪˈdeɪʃənz/
gradations is pronounced gray-DAY-shuhnz (/ɡɹeɪˈdeɪʃənz/). It has three syllables (gra-da-tions), with the stress on "da". Gradations are a series of gradual degrees or stages, often indicating incremental differences or levels within a process or spectrum. The term emphasizes subtle, successive changes rather than abrupt shifts, and is commonly used in contexts like color scales, measurements, or qualitative analysis. It conveys a progressive sequence from one state to another, typically without sharp boundaries.
Gradations are a series of gradual degrees or stages, often indicating incremental differences or levels within a process or spectrum. The term emphasizes subtle, successive changes rather than abrupt shifts, and is commonly used in contexts like color scales, measurements, or qualitative analysis. It conveys a progressive sequence from one state to another, typically without sharp boundaries.
"The gradations of color in the sunset shifted from pale pink to deep orange."
"She noted the gradations in temperature across the day, cooling gradually by evening."
"Researchers analyzed the gradations of market risk from low to high."
You say /ɡræˈdeɪʃənz/ in US and UK. The stress falls on the second syllable: gra-DAY-shuhnz. Begin with a short /ɡ/ then /ræ/ as in 'cat', followed by a clear /ˈdeɪ/ diphthong, then /ʃən/ (the 'shun' sound), and finish with /z/. For most speakers, the final /z/ is voiced and light. In connected speech, you can link the /ənz/ slightly, but keep the /eɪ/ distinct. IPA reference: US /ɡræˈdeɪʃənz/, UK /ɡræˈdeɪʃənz/. Audio guides: Pronounce or Forvo listings can help you hear the rhythm.
Common errors include: 1) Stress misplacement, saying gra-DAY-shuns or gra-DAY-shun without proper secondary stress on the second syllable; ensure primary stress on the second syllable: gra-DAY-ations. 2) Merging the /deɪ/ with a dull /e/ sound, yielding /ɡræˈdeɪʃənz/ vs /ɡræˈdeɪʃənz/ (subtly different but notable). 3) Voicing finale too loosely, pronouncing as /-ən/ instead of /-ənz/ or dropping the z. Correction: keep the final /z/ and fully pronounce the second syllable with /deɪ/ and the final /z/ with voicing.
In US and UK, the main difference is vowel quality and rhoticity. US often rhymes /ɡræˈdeɪʃənz/ with a tighter /æ/ in the first syllable and a clear /z/ at the end; UK typically has a slightly shorter /æ/ and a non-rhotic tendency in careful speech, but /z/ remains voiced. Australian English often features a more centralized /æ/ and a light, elongated /ɪə/ in some speakers, but for gradations the core is /ɡræˈdeɪʃənz/ with a hiss-quiet final. Always listen to native samples for rhythm.
The difficulty lies in the three-syllable rhythm with tertiary stress and two close vowels in sequence: /æ/ in first syllable, /eɪ/ in the stressed second syllable, and the /ə/ before final /nz/. The sequence /də/ can be tricky to keep light and not merge into /dɪ/. The final /z/ can be devoiced in some contexts. Focus on maintaining the clear /ˈdeɪ/ nucleus and the voiced /z/ ending to avoid a clipped or mismatched ending.
Gradations centers on the diphthong /eɪ/ in the stressed syllable and the final /z/ cluster, which can trip up learners who expect a long /e/ or a silent final. The noun form also requires a light, clipped final /z/ in rapid speech; avoid turning it into /-əz/ or /-s/. The two-phoneme cadence between /deɪ/ and /ʃən/ is distinctive and helps mark the correct word boundary in continuous speech.
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Gradation derives from the French gradation, from late Latin gradatio, from gradi, grad- ‘to step, walk, go’ and the suffix -ation denoting action or process. The term entered English in the 16th–17th centuries, originally tied to the idea of stepping or progressing through stages. It carried a broad sense of progressive change, often used in mathematical, artistic, and scientific discourse. Over time, gradation narrowed in many fields to describe a smooth, incremental progression or scale of differences, such as color gradations, tonal gradations, or measurement gradations. The word’s core root, grad-, remains visible in related terms like gradient, graduate, upgrade, and gradual. Its semantic drift centers on the image of stepping through levels, rather than abrupt jumps, which aligns with its use in describing nuanced differences across spectra, intensities, or qualitative categories. First known use in English appears in early modern texts addressing systematic variation and progressive changes, and it became entrenched in scientific and aesthetic vocabularies by the 18th and 19th centuries as disciplines formalized measurement scales and color spaces.
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