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In a formal manner; essentially; characteristically; expressly; regularly; ceremoniously; precisely. That which formally makes this [charity] a Christian grace, is the spring from which it flows. Smalridge. You and your followers do stand formally divided against the authorized guides of the church and rest of the peop…

Shapeless; without a determinate form; wanting regularity of shape. -- Form"less*ly, adv. -- Form"less*ness, n.

Not under an arbitrary or despotic government; subject only to fixed laws regularly and fairly administered, and defended by them from encroachments upon natural or acquired rights; enjoying political liberty.

ater; a house full of people. Had the throne been full, their meeting would not have been regular. Blackstone.

To execute or perform a function; to transact one's regular or appointed business.

To put into the form of bonds or stocks bearing regular interest; as, to fund the floating debt.

Existing in the form of bonds bearing regular interest; as, funded debt.

zek. xxii. 12. Gaining twist, in rifled firearms, a twist of the grooves, which increases regularly from the breech to the muzzle. To gain on or upon. (a) To encroach on; as, the ocean gains on the land. (b) To obtain influence with. (c) To win ground upon; to move faster than, as in a race or contest. (d) To get the b…

a water gauge. -- Gauge lathe, an automatic lathe for turning a round object having an irregular profile, as a baluster or chair round, to a templet or gauge. -- Gauge point, the diameter of a cylinder whose altitude is one inch, and contents equal to that of a unit of a given measure; -- a term used in gauging casks…

ultant uniformly dehydrated blast effects great economy in fuel consumption, and promotes regularity of furnace operation, and certainty of furnace control.

Regular descent of a person or family from a progenitor; pedigree; lineage.

Swelling by a regular curve or surface; protuberant; convex; as, the moon is gibbous between the half-moon and the full moon. The bones will rise, and make a gibbous member. Wiseman.

Moving irregularly; flighty; fickle. [R.] Shak.

radual change in the most frequent cases; as in passing from the begining to the end of a regular diphthong, or from vowel to consonant or consonant to vowel in a syllable, or from one component to the other of a double or diphthongal consonant (see Guide to Pronunciation, §§ 19, 161, 162). Also (by Bell and others), t…

owing snake (Spilotes Couperi) of the Southern United States. Gopher drift (Mining), an irregular prospecting drift, following or seeking the ore without regard to regular grade or section. Raymond.

The act of progressing by regular steps or orderly arrangement; the state of being graded or arranged in ranks; as, the gradation of castes.

By regular steps or gradations; of or pertaining to gradation.

Rising or descending by regular degrees of inclination; as, the gradient line of a railroad.

r 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. Creatures animate with gradual life Of growth, sense, reason, all summed up in man. Milton.

The quality or state of being gradual; regular progression or gradation; slowness. The gradualness of this movement. M. Arnold. The gradualness of growth is a characteristic which strikes the simplest observer. H. Drummond.