DESCEND

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does descend mean? 

• DESCEND (verb)
  The verb DESCEND has 4 senses:

1. move downward and lower, but not necessarily all the way

2. come from; be connected by a relationship of blood, for example

3. do something that one considers to be below one's dignity

4. come as if by falling

  Familiarity information: DESCEND used as a verb is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• DESCEND (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they descend    ... he / she / it descends   
Past simple: descended   
Past participle: descended   
-ing form: descending   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Move downward and lower, but not necessarily all the way

Classified under:

Verbs of walking, flying, swimming

Synonyms:

come down; descend; fall; go down

Context example:

Her hand went up and then fell again

Hypernyms (to "descend" is one way to...):

go; locomote; move; travel (change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "descend"):

flop (fall suddenly and abruptly)

cascade; cascade down (rush down in big quantities, like a cascade)

drip (fall in drops)

pounce; swoop (move down on as if in an attack)

go down; go under; settle; sink (go under)

alight; climb down (come down)

pitch (fall or plunge forward)

plop (drop with the sound of something falling into water)

drop (to fall vertically)

topple; tumble (fall down, as if collapsing)

prolapse (slip or fall out of place, as of body parts)

crash (fall or come down violently)

sink; subside (descend into or as if into some soft substance or place)

precipitate (fall vertically, sharply, or headlong)

correct; decline; slump (go down in value)

go down; go under; set (disappear beyond the horizon)

dive; plunge; plunk (drop steeply)

avalanche; roll down (gather into a huge mass and roll down a mountain, of snow)

dismount; get down; get off; light; unhorse (alight from (a horse))

abseil; rappel; rope down (descend by means of a rappel)

Sentence frames:

Something ----s
Somebody ----s

Sentence example:

The airplane is sure to descend

Antonym:

ascend (travel up)

Derivation:

descendant; descendent (going or coming down)

descent (a movement downward)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Come from; be connected by a relationship of blood, for example

Classified under:

Verbs of being, having, spatial relations

Synonyms:

come; derive; descend

Context example:

he comes from humble origins

Verb group:

derive (come from)

come; hail (be a native of)

Sentence frames:

Something is ----ing PP
Somebody ----s PP

Derivation:

descendant; descendent (a person considered as descended from some ancestor)

descent (the descendants of one individual)

descent (the kinship relation between an individual and the individual's progenitors)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Do something that one considers to be below one's dignity

Classified under:

Verbs of political and social activities and events

Synonyms:

condescend; deign; descend

Hypernyms (to "descend" is one way to...):

act; move (perform an action, or work out or perform (an action))

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s to INFINITIVE

Sense 4

Meaning:

Come as if by falling

Classified under:

Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.

Synonyms:

descend; fall; settle

Context example:

Silence fell

Hypernyms (to "descend" is one way to...):

come (come to pass; arrive, as in due course)

Verb group:

fall (go as if by falling)

Sentence frame:

Something ----s

 Context examples 

It was two in the afternoon, and a ghostly twilight, shot through by wandering purplish lights, had descended upon us.

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)

A blood vessel arising from the profunda artery supplying the muscles on the front of the thigh and divides into ascending, descending and transverse branches.

(External Circumflex Artery, NCI Thesaurus)

One of the arteries arising from the left anterior descending (LAD) artery that supply the anterolateral wall.

(Diagonal Branch of the Anterior Descending Artery, NCI Thesaurus)

The segment of the left anterior descending (LAD) artery that is distal to the third diagonal branch.

(Distal Left Anterior Descending Artery, NCI Thesaurus)

A religious group whose beliefs are based on the practices defined by the first seven ecumenical councils and whose members are located in or descended from the people of Eastern or Southeastern Europe.

(Eastern Orthodox Christian, NCI Thesaurus)

Failure of testes to descend into scrotum.

(Murine Undescended Testis, NIH CRISP Thesaurus)

A developmental defect characterized by failure of the testes to descend into the scrotum.

(Murine Undescended Testis, NLM, Medical Subject Headings)

Mr. Micawber immediately descended to the bar, where he appeared to be quite at home; and in due time returned with a steaming jug.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

A physical feeling of being able to breathe better during late trimester of pregnancy when the baby starts to descend lower into the pelvic cavity.

(Physiologic Lightening, NCI Thesaurus)

And every time the hand descended, the ears flattened down and a cavernous growl surged in his throat.

(White Fang, by Jack London)