ascend

[uh-send]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR ascend ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used without object)

to move, climb, or go upward; mount; rise: The airplane ascended into the clouds.

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.

to gain or succeed to; acquire: to ascend the throne.

Origin of ascend

1350–1400; Middle English ascenden < Anglo-French ascendre < Latin ascendere to climb up, equivalent to a- a-⁵ + -scendere, combining form of scandere to climb. See scan

Related formsas·cend·a·ble, as·cend·i·ble, adjectivere·as·cend, verbun·as·cend·a·ble, adjectiveun·as·cend·ed, adjective

Synonyms for ascend

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR ascend ON THESAURUS.COM

1. soar. 6. See climb.

Antonyms for ascend

1, 6. descend.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for ascend

escalate, climb, soar, fly, rise, sprout, mount, float, scale, arise, tower

Examples from the Web for ascend

Contemporary Examples of ascend

Under Henry II, Marshal continued to ascend, as the king rewarded his service with land, a wife, and a title.
England’s Greatest Knight Puts ‘Game of Thrones’ to Shame
William O’Connor
December 9, 2014
The opposite phenomenon also occurs: neglected writers who ascend to prominence only posthumously.
The Birth of the Novel
Nick Romeo
November 27, 2014
Then there are those who have strong vocals, but have yet to ascend to massive career success or freakish mainstream popularity.
Mariah Carey Is the Last of the Traditional Divas
Phoebe Robinson
May 29, 2014
The transformation begins even before you step foot in the town-palace and ascend its grand stairway.
The Royal Academy Wants You to Finish This Artwork
Chloë Ashby
January 24, 2014
His opponents are up against the bizarre logic that pushed the crack-smoking Toronto mayor to ascend and survive.
How Rob Ford Could Win Reelection
Ivor Tossell
January 3, 2014

Historical Examples of ascend

Then I heard a voice, saying, 'Lo, the soul seeketh to ascend!'
Philothea
Lydia Maria Child
At length, when we were nearly under the peak, he began to ascend.
Green Mansions
W. H. Hudson
He causeth the vapours to ascend from the ends of the earth.
Female Scripture Biographies, Vol. I
Francis Augustus Cox
I, humble representative of the uncommercial interest, ascend with the rest.
The Uncommercial Traveller
Charles Dickens
We came the same evening to the foot of it, but the day was too far advanced to ascend it.
The History of Louisiana
Le Page Du Pratz

British Dictionary definitions for ascend

ascend

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

ascend the throne to become king or queen

Word Origin for ascend

C14: from Latin ascendere, from scandere

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

Word Origin and History for ascend

late 14c., from Latin ascendere "to climb up, mount, ascend," figuratively "to rise, reach," from ad- "to" (see ad-) + scandere "to climb" (see scan (v.)). Also in 15c. used with a sense "to mount (a female) for copulation." Related: Ascended; ascending. An Old English word for it was stigan.