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:
You ascend quickly via its glass elevator, and the Endeavour and its components shift in size and sensation as you climb.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 27, 2026
The context deepens after we ascend to an upper passageway.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 26, 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
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
“To ascend to the origin of things, and speculate on creation, is not the business of the natural philosopher,” he wrote.
From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee
A coming model can even climb stairs, cleaning each step as it ascends.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 30, 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
When magma ascends from deep within Earth, it can make the ground shake.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 27, 2025
Jeff Koons, left, ascends to plant a dudleya, the first succulent in the installation of 50,000 flowering plants for his sculpture “Split-Rocker.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 24, 2025
They step inside, joining a line that ascends a curving stairway around the perimeter, separated from the interior of the tent by a heavy black curtain.
From "The Night Circus" by Erin Morgenstern
Her groom had ascended to the Qing throne at the age of 2, only to see his rule end four years later when a rebellion toppled the imperial system.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 6, 2026
At the Texas event, Tesla set up a gigantic C-shaped ramp, and the Roadster ascended to the top of the curve.
From Slate ● Oct. 19, 2026
McVay laments, usually lightheartedly, the loss of staff members that have ascended to become head coaches.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 8, 2026
"I think she has ascended to sainthood now."
From Barron's ● Aug. 26, 2026
The hypogeum ascended through a forest of weathered stone columns, into the middle of a ruined coliseum.
From "The Mark of Athena" by Rick Riordan
Here they are, sorted by ascending forward P/E:
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 28, 2026
Stage two is a gruelling 223km ride from Keswick in the Lake District to Liverpool, which includes five categorised climbs and 2,800 metres of ascending in total.
From BBC ● Oct. 22, 2026
Before ascending the ranks of academia, Cornell University President Michael Kotlikoff demonstrated against the Vietnam War and earned a literature degree at the University of Pennsylvania.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 6, 2026
Here are a few of my current “one nice things,” roughly in ascending order of effort:
From Salon ● Sep. 22, 2026
The advancing line of blue moves forward, slowly ascending the hill.
From "Lincoln's Last Days: The Shocking Assassination that Changed America Forever" by Bill O'Reilly
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