1 : a recent event that has some relevance for the present situation
2 : a process in which something passes by degrees to a different stage (especially a more advanced or mature stage)
3 : a progression from simpler to more complex forms
4 : gradual improvement or growth or development
5 : (biology) the process of an individual organism growing organically; a purely biological unfolding of events involved in an organism changing gradually from a simple to a more complex level
