Synonyms

ascend

American

[uh-send] / əˈsɛnd /

verb (used without object)

to move, climb, or go upward; mount; rise.

The airplane ascended into the clouds.

Synonyms:

soar

Antonyms:

descend
to slant upward.
to rise to a higher point, rank, or degree; proceed from an inferior to a superior degree or level.

to ascend to the presidency.
to go toward the source or beginning; go back in time.
Music. to rise in pitch; pass from any tone to a higher one.

verb (used with object)

to go or move upward upon or along; climb; mount.

to ascend a lookout tower;
to ascend stairs.

Antonyms:

descend
to gain or succeed to; acquire.

to ascend the throne.

ascend British

/ əˈsɛnd /

verb

to go or move up (a ladder, hill, slope, etc); mount; climb
(intr) to slope or incline upwards
(intr) to rise to a higher point, level, degree, etc
to follow (a river) upstream towards its source
to trace (a genealogy, etc) back in time
to sing or play (a scale, arpeggio, etc) from the lower to higher notes
to become king or queen

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Related Words

See climb.

Other Word Forms

ascendable adjective
ascendible adjective
reascend verb
unascendable adjective
unascended adjective

Etymology

Origin of ascend

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English ascenden, from Anglo-French ascendre, from Latin ascendere “to climb up,” from a- a- ⁵ + -scendere, combining form of scandere “to climb”

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

He was also the youngest man to ascend to the world number one ranking.

From Barron's

She froze in her seat, eyes darting from side to side, before she ascended the stage to accept the award for her disruptive album, Cowboy Carter - the trophy bestowed upon her by country-darling-turned-crossover-superstar Taylor Swift.

From BBC

But he made progress— slowly he ascended, breathing hard.

From Literature

Here’s how the 11 sectors of the S&P 500 performed on Tuesday, ascending, with the full index at the bottom.

From MarketWatch

Throughout the novel, the two women bond and build each other up, each supporting the other as they ascend to previously unrealized heights for women.

From Los Angeles Times

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023