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What does gradualism mean?

Looking for the meaning or definition of the word gradualism? Here's what it means.

Noun
  1. (biology) The belief that evolution proceeds at a steady pace, without the sudden development of new species or biological features from one generation to the next.
  2. (transferred sense) The belief that some phenomenon occurs gradually over a long period of time.
  3. (politics) The belief that change ought to be brought about in small, discrete increments rather than in abrupt strokes such as revolutions or uprisings.
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Examples
If China does opt for gradualism, a wider band and a switch to a currency basket might do the trick.
The author argues for gradualism in change, rather than revolutionary overthrow of current systems.
For a preference for gradualism implies that these other considerations are more important than liberty.
Darwinian gradualism and a growing emphasis on large populations accounted for the origins of species.
Is this because they have now been won round to the logic of gradualism, and realise that independence is not going to happen over night?
The theory, as it was originally formulated, combined gradualism with sudden and relatively rapid bursts of evolutionary change.

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