by degrees
Little by little
By degrees means gradually, through a series of small steps or stages rather than all at once.
Change happens by degrees when it unfolds incrementally: By degrees, she came to understand what had happened.
The sky darkened by degrees until we could no longer see the trail.
- bit by bitIn small increments
- little by littleIn small increments
- incrementallyBy small successive amounts
- progressivelyIn increasing stages
- imperceptiblyBelow detection threshold
drop by drop · inch by inch · one step at a time · piecemeal · over time · day by day · gradually · eventually · inching · sequentially · slowly · slow and steady · creeping · steadily · subtly · in due course · by and by · successively
- phrasesnoun phrases, noun phrase, verb phrase, prepositional phrase, prepositional phrases
- gradual phrasesbit by bit, little by little, one by one, piece by piece, inch by inch
manner of change/progression
by degreessuddenly
Without prior indication
all at once · abruptly · instantaneously · instantly · immediately
degree, progression, graduate, graduated, incremental, gradualism, degreed, degreasing, gradualist