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The act of retrograding, or going backward; retrogradation.

Gradation; succession of ascending and descending steps and degrees; progressive series; scheme of comparative rank or order; as, a scale of being. There is a certain scale of duties . . . which for want of studying in right order, all the world is in confusion. Milton.

Degradation of one's self by one's own act.

To mark with gradations of light or color.

To mark with gradations of light or color; to shade.

Shade, or gradation of light and color; shading. Feltham.

a crayon or pencil drawing, in shading it, or for shading drawings by producing tints and gradations from crayon, etc., in powder.

That which resembles a theater in form, use, or the like; a place rising by steps or gradations, like the seats of a theater. Burns. Shade above shade, a woody theater Of stateliest view. Milton.

ls of the same species of three distinct forms, not connected, as a rule, by intermediate gradations; the condition among individuals of the same species of having three different shapes or proportions of corresponding parts; -- contrasted with polymorphism, and dimorphism. Heterogonous trimporphism (Bot.), that condit…

of paper or glass with a central aperture the edges of which become opaque by intensible gradations.

One sunk in vice or degradation; a base, despicable person; a vile knave; as, a profligate wretch.