descent

C1 Topic:Aviation & Flight

US /dəˈsɛnt/ UK /dɪˈsɛnt/ See IPA manual

Freq #9600

Meanings

1

noun
The act of moving or coming down.

We climbed the mountain with difficulty, but the descent was much easier.
2

noun
The family or ancestors a person comes from.

Our guide was of Welsh descent.
3

noun
A fall to a lower or worse condition.

After the scandal, his career went into a steep descent.
4

noun
A path or slope leading downward.

The descent into the cavern was wet and slippery.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · the act of moving or coming... fall

2 noun · the family or ancestors a... extraction origin

3 noun · a fall to a lower or worse... decline

Opposites

ascent

Word family

Forms descents

Derived forms hyperdescenthypodescentmaldescentredescent

Related forms descend

Appears in

Phrases (1)

See all

bilateral descent
a way of tracing family relationships through both the mother's and the father's relatives

Adjective + noun

Proverbs (1)

See all

The way to hell is easy
Matching variant: The descent to hell is easy

Etymology

From Middle English and Anglo-Norman descente, from Anglo-Norman descendre (“to descend”); see descend. Compare ascent, ascend. Doublet of desant.

descente xno descendre xno

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Aviation & Flight Actions & Processes Word Formation & Derivatives

External links

# descent

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C1
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /dəˈsɛnt/
**IPA (UK):** /dɪˈsɛnt/
**Frequency rank:** 9600

## Meanings
1. The act of moving or coming down.
2. The family or ancestors a person comes from.
3. A fall to a lower or worse condition.
4. A path or slope leading downward.

## Examples
- We climbed the mountain with difficulty, but the descent was much easier.
- Our guide was of Welsh descent.
- After the scandal, his career went into a steep descent.
- The descent into the cavern was wet and slippery.

## Antonyms
- ascent

## Derived Forms
- hyperdescent
- hypodescent
- maldescent
- redescent

## Related Forms
- descend

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: descente
- Root: descendre

## Etymology
From Middle English and Anglo-Norman descente, from Anglo-Norman descendre (“to descend”); see descend. Compare ascent, ascend. Doublet of desant.

## AI Etymology
Descent is from Middle English and Anglo-Norman descente, from Anglo-Norman descendre (“to descend”); see descend. Compare ascent, ascend. Doublet of desant. In present-day use, it can mean the act of moving or coming down, or the family or ancestors a person comes from. Related forms include descend. Derived formations include hyperdescent, hypodescent, maldescent, redescent.

## Topics
- Aviation & Flight
- Actions & Processes
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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