descend

noun

(archaic) Synonym of descent (“instance of descending; sloping incline or passage; way down; decline, etc.”).

verb

Senses relating to moving from a higher to a lower position.

(transitive) To pass from a higher to a lower part of (something, such as a flight of stairs or a slope); to go down along or upon.

(transitive) Of a flight of stairs, a road, etc.: to lead down (a hill, a slope, etc.).

(intransitive) To physically move or pass from a higher to a lower place or position; to come or go down in any way, such as by climbing, falling, flowing, walking, etc.; to move downwards; to fall, to sink.

(astrology) Of a zodiac sign: to move away from the zenith towards the horizon; to sink; also, of a planet: to move to a place where it has less astrological significance.

(astronomy) Of a celestial body: to move away from the zenith towards the horizon; to sink; also, to move towards the south.

(biology, physiology) Of a body part: to move downwards, especially during development of the embryo; specifically, of the testes of a mammal: to move downwards from the abdominal cavity into the scrotum.

(intransitive) To slope or stretch downwards.

(intransitive, figurative) To come or go down, or reduce, in intensity or some other quality.

(intransitive, figurative) Of a physical thing (such as a a cloud or storm) or a (generally negative) immaterial thing (such as darkness, gloom, or silence): to settle upon and start to affect a person or place.

(intransitive, figurative) In speech or writing: to proceed from one matter to another; especially, to pass from more general or important to specific or less important matters to be considered.

(intransitive, figurative) Chiefly followed by into or to: of a situation: to become worse; to decline, to deteriorate.

(intransitive, figurative) Chiefly followed by on or upon: to make an attack or incursion, from or as if from a vantage ground; to come suddenly and with violence.

(intransitive, figurative) Chiefly followed by on or upon: to arrive suddenly or unexpectedly, especially in a manner that causes disruption or inconvenience.

(intransitive, figurative) To come down to a humbler or less fortunate, or a worse or less virtuous, rank or state; to abase or lower oneself; to condescend or stoop to something.

(intransitive, figurative) (chiefly poetic or religion) Chiefly in the form descend into (or within) oneself: to mentally enter a state of (deep) meditation or thought; to retire.

(intransitive, figurative) (mathematics) Of a sequence or series: to proceed from higher to lower values.

(intransitive, figurative) (music) To pass from a higher to a lower note or tone; to fall in pitch.

Senses relating to passing down from a source to another thing.

(intransitive) Of a characteristic: to be transmitted from a parent to a child.

(intransitive, chiefly law) Of property, a right, etc.: to pass down to a generation, a person, etc., by inheritance.

(intransitive, often passive voice) Chiefly followed by from or (obsolete) of: to come down or derive from an ancestor or ancestral stock, or a source; to originate, to stem.

(transitive, archaic) To move (someone or something) from a higher to a lower place or position; to bring or send (someone or something) down.

(chemistry, obsolete) Of a liquid substance: to distil out from another substance and gather at the bottom of a container; also, to distil a substance to obtain another liquid substance in this manner.

(intransitive, chiefly historical) To alight from a carriage, a horse, etc.; also, to disembark from a vessel; to land.

(transitive, obsolete, rare) To trace (a lineage) from earlier to later generations.

Roots

scando-scend · Latin · climb

Synonyms for descend

falln ascendv plummetv climbv condescendv dropn plungen soarv risen slopen settlev swoopn

Synonyms & related words for descend

Find synonyms, related words, and the definition of descend — including fall, ascend, plummet, climb, condescend, drop. Dendril is a free visual thesaurus that shows them on an interactive map where stronger matches sit closer to the center — no signup, no ads.

Words related to descend

Explore words related to descend — words associated with it, words that go with it, and its nearest matches in meaning. Related words include declivitous, descent, reascend, come, clomb, acclivitous, rappel, ascent. Click any word to make it the center of the map and keep exploring the web of connections.

Synonyms for descend

Common synonyms for descend include fall, ascend, plummet, climb, condescend, drop, plunge, soar — words that share a close meaning. Hover or tap any word on the map for its definition and part of speech.

Where does descend come from?

The word descend breaks down into one root of Latin origin: the root -scend, from Latin scando (“climb”). Explore each root to see other English words built from the same source.