Grad"a*to*ry (?), a. [See Grade.] 1. Proceeding step by step, or by gradations; gradual.

Could we have seen [Macbeth's] crimes darkening on their progress . . . could this gradatory apostasy have been shown us.

2. (Zoöl.) Suitable for walking; -- said of the limbs of an animal when adapted for walking on land.

Grad"a*to*ry, n. [Cf. LL. gradatarium.] (Arch.) A series of steps from a cloister into a church.