- gradient - a graded change in the magnitude of some physical quantity or dimension
--1 is a kind of change
--1 has particulars: gravity gradient; temperature gradient- gradient, slope - the property possessed by a line or surface that departs from the horizontal; "a five-degree gradient"
--2 is a kind of position, spatial relation
--2 has particulars:grade; pitch, rake, slant; abruptness, precipitousness, steepness; gradualness, gentleness - gradient, slope - the property possessed by a line or surface that departs from the horizontal; "a five-degree gradient"