ascend
Americanverb (used without object)
-
ascends,
present (3rd person singular)
-
ascended,
past participle, past
-
ascending
present participle
-
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)
-
ascends,
present (3rd person singular)
-
ascended,
past participle, past
-
ascending
present participle
-
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.
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
Synonym Usage
See climb.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
ascendsimple
-
ascendssimple
-
have ascendedperfect
-
has ascendedperfect
-
am ascendingprogressive
-
are ascendingprogressive
-
is ascendingprogressive
-
have been ascendingperfect progressive
-
has been ascendingperfect progressive
Past
-
ascendedsimple
-
had ascendedperfect
-
was ascendingprogressive
-
were ascendingprogressive
-
had been ascendingperfect progressive
Future
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”
Explanation
To ascend is to move or travel upwards. You can do this literally, like when you ascend to 35,000 feet after your plane takes off, or figuratively, like when you win the lottery and ascend to a higher social class. Riding the escalators in the department store is one way to amuse yourself while your parents shop. You can ascend all the way to the 8th floor, and then descend back to the ground floor. Both ascend and descend come from the Latin verb scandere, which means "to climb." It's the prefixes that make all the difference. The a- of ascend makes the word mean "climb up," while the de- of its antonym makes descend mean "climb down."
Vocabulary lists containing ascend
"Julius Caesar" by William Shakespeare, Act III
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
"The Book Thief" by Markus Zusak, Part Six
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
Beowulf vocabulary
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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.
See Examples For:
Her wide-ranging contralto—the lowest of female vocal types—could produce rich, cello-like tones or ascend easily into the soprano realm.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026
But what some perceive as a negative makes the Green Lantern legend appealing to others, especially those driven to ascend through ambition and hard work.
From Salon ● Aug. 16, 2026
Araya, the arborist, outfitted Paloma Muñiz-Ochoa, 17, and Maia Atkinson, 17, then, one by one, taught them the leg technique to ascend prepositioned ropes to a branch 50 feet above ground.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 19, 2026
Ever since, fans have been hoping she'll ascend to the top of the Pyramid Stage.
From BBC ● Jun. 26, 2026
Before I ascend the metal stairs that will carry me above the glass ceiling, I wait in darkness and watch the light cast on the Pit walls by the sun.
From "Divergent" by Veronica Roth
A coming model can even climb stairs, cleaning each step as it ascends.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 30, 2026
Only days remain until Zohran Mamdani ascends the throne of New York City, and nearly all his great opponents have given up.
From Slate ● Dec. 29, 2025
On Highland Avenue, the base of the block is mostly intact but as the street ascends toward the foothills, homes disappear.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 14, 2025
When magma ascends from deep within Earth, it can make the ground shake.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 27, 2025
He watches as she ascends quickly up the stoop with her shopping bags, her heels suspended over the treads in a way that looks precarious.
From "The Namesake" by Jhumpa Lahiri
Pope Leo XIV, who ascended to the throne of St. Peter last year, has already made six overseas trips.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 28, 2026
When Bunch ascended to his top job in 2019, he was celebrated as the first African-American and first historian in the Secretary role—his 13 predecessors all hailed from scientific, business or legal fields.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 8, 2026
McVay laments, usually lightheartedly, the loss of staff members that have ascended to become head coaches.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 8, 2026
Harald then ascended to the throne when Olav died on 17 January 1991.
From BBC ● Aug. 28, 2026
When they ascended the steps to the hall, Maria’s alarm was every moment increasing, and even Sir William did not look perfectly calm.
From "Pride and Prejudice" by Jane Austen
For the last 31 years, it has been headed by King Oyo Nyimba Kabamba Iguru Rukidi IV, who was once known as a "boy king", after ascending to the throne as an infant.
From BBC ● Sep. 28, 2026
Here are a few of my current “one nice things,” roughly in ascending order of effort:
From Salon ● Sep. 22, 2026
Turner played with Donald as a rookie in 2023 and soaked up as much as he could from the eight-time All-Pro before ascending to become a team leader.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 30, 2026
For more context, here is a look at the 11 sectors of the S&P 500, showing forward P/E ratios, sorted ascending, those at the end of 2025 and year-to-date weighted price changes.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 10, 2026
Now the foot scratchings were deeper, more frequent, and they followed no direct ascending line.
From "The Princess Bride" by William Goldman
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.
