The Oxford Thesaurus An A-Z Dictionary of Synonyms INTRO ...

gentle grade into the lake. 5 make the grade. pass, measure up,
succeed, qualify, Colloq US make it, Slang US and Canadian and
NZ hack or cut it: Do you think that Simpson can make the
grade?
--v. 6 classify, class, order, organize, rank, sort, size,
group, categorize, rate: Her job is to grade pearls according
to their size. 7 mark, rate, correct, evaluate: My teacher was
up late grading our exams.
gradual adj. easy, gentle, even, moderate, slow, piecemeal, inchmeal,
regular, steady: There is a gradual slope down to the garden
wall. The acceleration was gradual. He became aware of a gradual
erosion of his authority.
gradually adv. slowly, evenly, piecemeal, inchmeal, drop by drop, step by
step, bit by bit, little by little, piece by piece, gradatim:
The water gradually seeped through the filter. We advanced
gradually through the forest.
graduate n. 1 bachelor, postgraduate, US alumnus (pl. alumni) or alumna
(pl. alumnae): Even university graduates found it difficult to
get a job.
--v. 2 gradate, mark, calibrate, grade, scale: This
thermometer is graduated in increments of one tenth of a degree.
graft° n. 1 bud, scion, shoot, splice, implantation or implant,
transplant: New varieties were created by the implantation of
grafts that have desirable qualities.
--v. 2 implant, splice, insert, join: Fruit-bearing stems are
grafted onto a sturdy rootstock.
graftý n. corruption, jobbery; bribery, extortion, Colloq payola,
kickback: After only five years, he retired on the takings from
graft.
grain n. 1 seed, kernel, stone, pip, pit: Grains from each crop are
stored ready for sowing. 2 cereal, corn, grist: The grain
harvest was sparse this year. 3 particle, bit, fragment, crumb,
speck, granule, morsel, mote, molecule, atom, fleck, iota,
ounce, scrap, trace, scintilla, hint, suggestion, whit, jot (or