descend
Use Descend in a sentence
verb (used without object)
1.
to go or pass from a higher to a lower place; move or come down: to descend from the mountaintop.
2.
to pass from higher to lower in any scale or series.
3.
to go from generals to particulars, as in a discussion.
4.
to slope, tend, or lead downward: The path descends to the pond.
5.
to be inherited or transmitted, as through succeeding generations of a family: The title descends through eldest sons.
6.
to have a specific person or family among one's ancestors (usually followed by from ): He is descended from Cromwell.
7.
to be derived from something remote in time, especially through continuous transmission: This festival descends from a druidic rite.
8.
to approach or pounce upon, especially in a greedy or hasty manner (followed by on or upon ): Thrill-seekers descended upon the scene of the crime.
9.
to settle, as a cloud or vapor.
10.
to appear or become manifest, as a supernatural being, state of mind, etc.: Jupiter descended to humankind.
11.
to attack, especially with violence and suddenness (usually followed by on or upon ): to descend upon enemy soldiers.
12.
to sink or come down from a certain intellectual, moral, or social standard: He would never descend to baseness.
13.
Astronomy. to move toward the horizon, as the sun or a star.
verb (used with object)
14.
to move downward upon or along; go or climb down (stairs, a hill, etc.).
15.
to extend or lead down along: The path descends the hill.
00:10
Descend
is always a great word to know.
So is eclipse. Does it mean:
| the obscuring of the light of the moon by the intervention of the earth between it and the sun, a lunar eclipse, or the obscuring of the light of the sun by the intervention of the moon between it and a point on the earth, a solar eclipse |
| a low-mass star that emits low to average amounts of light that burn their hydrogen slowly over a long life span |
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source
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Link To descend
Collins
World English Dictionary
descend (dɪˈsɛnd) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —vb (often foll by on | |
| 1. | (also tr) to move, pass, or go down (a hill, slope, staircase, etc) |
| 2. | (of a hill, slope, or path) to lead or extend down; slope; incline |
| 3. | to move to a lower level, pitch, etc; fall |
| 4. | ( |
| 5. | to be passed on by parents or ancestors; be inherited |
| 6. | to sink or come down in morals or behaviour; lower oneself |
| 7. | to arrive or attack in a sudden or overwhelming way: their relatives descended upon them last week |
| 8. | (of the sun, moon, etc) to move towards the horizon |
| [C13: from Old French descendre, from Latin dēscendere, from | |
| des'cendable | |
| —adj | |
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History
descend
c.1300, from O.Fr. descendre, from L. descendere, from de- "down" + scandere "to climb," from PIE base *skand- "jump." Sense of "originate from" is late 14c. In typography, descender "part of a letter that extends below the body" is from 1802.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Example sentences
Let's stick to the science and not descend to that lowest form of human discourse: political punditry.
Since we've reached these heights, let's go on and explore them, then we'll do our best to descend from them.
He needs to persuade consumers that their sky-high premiums may soon descend.
But now the climbers were forced to descend an unfamiliar path, in total darkness no less.
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