ascendant
Americannoun
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a position of dominance or controlling influence: possession of power, superiority, or preeminence.
With his rivals in the ascendant, he soon lost his position.
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an ancestor; forebear.
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Astrology. the point of the ecliptic or the sign and degree of the zodiac rising above the eastern horizon at the time of a birth or event: the cusp of the first house.
adjective
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ascending; rising.
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superior; predominant.
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Botany. directed or curved upward.
adjective
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proceeding upwards; rising
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dominant, superior, or influential
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botany another term for ascending
noun
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rare an ancestor
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a position or condition of dominance, superiority or control
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astrology (sometimes capital)
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a point on the ecliptic that rises on the eastern horizon at a particular moment and changes as the earth rotates on its axis
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the sign of the zodiac containing this point
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increasing in influence, prosperity, etc
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of ascendant
1350–1400; Middle English ascendent < Latin ascendent- (stem of ascendēns ) climbing up. See ascend, -ent, -ant
Explanation
Something that's ascendant is increasing its power or status. An ascendant political party is one that captures more and more seats in Congress with every election. Things are ascendant when they're growing in importance. It's common to use this adjective to describe people or groups that have already achieved a lot of power and whose influence continues to grow. Ascendant was originally a term in astronomy, although today it's used in astrology to mean the sign of the Zodiac rising in the east when someone's born. The Latin root is ascendere, "to go up," but also figuratively "to rise," or "to reach."
Vocabulary lists containing ascendant
You Call This Democracy?
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"The Ends of the World as We Know Them," Vocabulary from the argument
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Inkheart
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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.
Austria will formally open a new police station on Wednesday in Adolf Hitler's former house, in the hope of deterring today's ascendant far-right extremists from making the pilgrimage to the Nazi dictator's birthplace.
From Barron's ● Jul. 22, 2026
Finch was a talented photographer, whose intimate shots of SoCal bands lent an air of tragic grit to an ascendant punk and rock scene.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 19, 2026
They bet big on the ascendant Florida Republican Party, backing Rick Scott all the way to the governor’s mansion.
From Slate ● Apr. 20, 2026
These offer few clues as to which of the party’s wings is in the ascendant.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 6, 2026
All that arcane business about planets ascendant in this or that solar or lunar “house” or the “Age of Aquarius” comes from Ptolemy, who codified the Babylonian astrological tradition.
From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
