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descent definition

de·scent (dē sent, di-)

noun

  1. a descending; coming down or going down
  2. lineage; ancestry
  3. one generation (in a specified lineage)
  4. a downward slope
  5. a way down or downward
  6. a sudden attack, raid, or invasion (on or upon)
  7. a decline; fall
  8. a stooping (to an act)
  9. Law transference (of property) to heirs or offspring by inheritance

Etymology: ME descent < OFr descente < descendre: see descend

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2005 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Alternate definitions:
descent Synonyms

descent

n.

  1. A downward incline

    declivity, slope, drop; see grade 1, inclination 5.

  2. The act of descending

    drop, fall, falling, coming down, sinking, degradation, abasement, droop, cadence, debasement, slump, downfall, drop, lapse, slide, subsiding, declination, swoop, plunge, dip, reduction, precipitation, landslide, tumble, decline; see also fall 1.

    Antonyms rise*, mounting*, growth. *

  3. Lineal relationship

    extraction, origin, lineage; see family 1, relationship.

  4. An invasion

    advance, incursion, assault; see attack 1.


Webster's New World Roget's A-Z Thesaurus Copyright © 1999 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

descent Usage Examples

Converse of object

  • trace: I have not been able, through the deficiency of records, to trace the descent of these manors satisfactorily.

Adjective modifier

  • steep: Many rock marks used by anglers involve a steep descent down cliffs on tracks more suited to mountain goats.

Preposition: into

  • madness: You see this whole kind of descent into madness.

Modifies a noun

  • gully: Across the descent gully is a large undercut block with an obvious hole in its front face.

Noun used with modifier

  • torchlight: The highlight of the week is the torchlight descent.

Preposition: of

  • manor: I have not been able, through the deficiency of records, to trace the descent of these manors satisfactorily.

Preposition: from

  • ancestor: The clans themselves have an equally shadowy history and claim descent from legendary ancestors with whom their connection is based simply on oral tradition.

Preposition: with

  • modification: Like the heliocentric hypothesis of Copernicus, the hypothesis of descent with modification has long held the status of a scientific fact.
descent usage examples (more)

The word usage examples above have been gathered from various sources to reflect current and historical usage. They do not represent the opinions of YourDictionary.com.

descent quotes

If there be no nobility of descent in a nation, it is all the more indispensable that there should be nobility of ascent; a character in them that bear rule, so fine and high and pure, that as men come within the circle of its influence, they involuntarily pay homagetothat which is the one pre-eminent distinctionöthe royalty of virtue.

-Potter, Henry Codman

From yon blue heavens above us bent The gardener Adam and his wife Smile at the claims of long descent. Howe'er it be, it seems to me, 'Tis only noble to be good. Kind hearts are more than coronets, And simple faith than Norman blood.

-Tennyson

descent quotes (more)

Webster's New World Dictionary of Quotations Copyright © 2005 by Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved. Published by Wiley, Hoboken, NJ. Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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"descent." Webster's New World College Dictionary. 2009

  • Your Dictionary. 5 July 2009
  • <www.yourdictionary.com/descent>

APA Style

descent. (2009). In Webster's New World College Dictionary

  • Retrieved July 5th, 2009, from www.yourdictionary.com/descent

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