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.

As the rover ascends, the landscape increasingly shows signs that water gradually disappeared over time, although occasional wetter periods allowed rivers and lakes to return.

From Science Daily

On notes circulating currently, in ascending order of value, are former Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill, author Jane Austen, artist JMW Turner and mathematician and wartime codebreaker Alan Turing.

From BBC

The current crop on circulating notes, in ascending order of note value, are Sir Winston Churchill, Jane Austen, JMW Turner and Alan Turing.

From BBC

He suggested accusers might have come forward because the broker brothers hurt people’s feelings, particularly when they were ascending professionally.

From The Wall Street Journal

Here they are, sorted by ascending intraday forward P/E early Monday:

From MarketWatch

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