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descend - Meaning and Examples

Meaning of 'descend' (Webster Dictionary)

1 . Descend [ v. i.]
- To pass from a higher to a lower place; to move downwards; to come or go down in any way, as by falling, flowing, walking, etc.; to plunge; to fall; to incline downward; -- the opposite of ascend.
- To enter mentally; to retire.
- To make an attack, or incursion, as if from a vantage ground; to come suddenly and with violence; -- with on or upon.
- To come down to a lower, less fortunate, humbler, less virtuous, or worse, state or station; to lower or abase one's self; as, he descended from his high estate.
- To pass from the more general or important to the particular or less important matters to be considered.
- To come down, as from a source, original, or stock; to be derived; to proceed by generation or by transmission; to fall or pass by inheritance; as, the beggar may descend from a prince; a crown descends to the heir.
- To move toward the south, or to the southward.
- To fall in pitch; to pass from a higher to a lower tone.
2 . Descend [ v. t.]
- To go down upon or along; to pass from a higher to a lower part of; as, they descended the river in boats; to descend a ladder.

Meaning of 'descend' (Princeton's WordNet)

1 . descend [ v]
Meaning (1):
- come from; be connected by a relationship of blood, for example
Example in sentence:
  • he comes from humble origins;
  • She was descended from an old Italian noble family
Meaning (2):
- move downward and lower, but not necessarily all the way
Example in sentence:
  • Her hand went up and then fell again;
  • The barometer is falling;
  • The curtain fell on the diva;
  • The temperature is going down
Meaning (3):
- come as if by falling
Example in sentence:
  • Night fell;
  • Silence fell

Nearby Words:

descant descanted descanter descanting descendant descended descendent descender descendibility descendible

See 'descend' also in:

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Related Definitions

  • Descending Colon
    The descending colon is about 10 in. (25 cm) long and lies in the left upper and lower quadrants

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