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
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"The Book Thief" by Markus Zusak, Part Six
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Beowulf vocabulary
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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.
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 he was about to rapidly ascend in Russia to a position of wealth and influence, with the help of a powerful friend.
From Salon ● Sep. 14, 2026
Our tendency to ascend and reach higher places may reflect a deep ancestral relationship with trees that extends beyond anatomy alone.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 31, 2026
Liechtenstein has announced that it has changed royal succession rules to allow women to ascend the throne.
From BBC ● Aug. 15, 2026
Although in a few hours we would leave camp as a group, we would ascend as individuals, linked to one another by neither rope nor any deep sense of loyalty.
From "Into Thin Air" by Jon Krakauer
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 ● Mar. 14, 2026
After a top-flight career as a session musician, Preston’s star ascends ever higher after his January 1969 collaboration with The Beatles.
From Salon ● Feb. 20, 2026
This is why the Ferrari Purosangue—with a free-breathing V12 engine—loses power as it ascends in altitude.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 12, 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
At the right-hand corner the green cathedral spire ascends into the pale blue sky of the evening.
From "All Quiet on the Western Front: A Novel" by Erich Maria Remarque
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
"I think she has ascended to sainthood now."
From Barron's ● Aug. 26, 2026
Another very old drink that has found new fans is orange wine, which has ascended as a rosé alternative.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 15, 2026
Moss ascended the steps to the stage and found his mama crouched down behind the pulpit.
From "Anger Is a Gift" by Mark Oshiro
Here are a few of my current “one nice things,” roughly in ascending order of effort:
From Salon ● Sep. 22, 2026
“I had the cool experience of actually ascending into the treehouse,” said Kim Cooper, co-owner of Esotouric tours and former visitors to the treehouse.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 12, 2026
Neros’s profile in the administration has been ascending.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 14, 2026
“We think that most people get ascending aortic dissections because of genetics,” Martin said.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 13, 2026
It takes forever for him to get to the top—usually he bounds, but today he’s a man ascending the scaffold.
From "The Girl on the Train" by Paula Hawkins
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.
