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Synonyms

ascendancy

American  
[uh-sen-duhn-see] / əˈsɛn dən si /
Also ascendance, or ascendency

noun

  1. the state of being in the ascendant; governing or controlling influence; domination.

    Synonyms:
    supremacy, sovereignty, preeminence, predominance, hegemony, dominion, dominance
ascendancy British  
/ əˈsɛndəns, əˈsɛndənsɪ /

noun

  1. the condition of being dominant, esp through superior economic or political power

"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

Other Word Forms

  • nonascendance noun
  • nonascendancy noun
  • nonascendence noun
  • nonascendency noun

Etymology

Origin of ascendancy

First recorded in 1705–15; ascend(ant) + -ancy

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.

Hence the ascendancy of Taylor Frankie Paul, queen of MomTok and “Mormon Wives,” a woman known for her lack of filter and habit of putting it all out there.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 21, 2026

Kim Jong Un was virtually unknown until a few years before his ascendancy atop the country in 2011.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 13, 2026

Anisimova was slowly gaining the ascendancy and after a hold to love she made her move as Wang was serving to stay alive, earning a set point.

From Barron's • Jan. 26, 2026

Rahul and Pant are the two most experienced members of the new-look India top order and they needed all of their nous to guide their team into the ascendancy.

From BBC • Jun. 23, 2025

Not his ascendancy alone, however, held me in thrall at present.

From "Jane Eyre" by Charlotte Brontë

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.