ascendant

or as·cend·ent

[ uh-sen-duh nt ]

/ əˈsɛn dənt /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR ascendant ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a position of dominance or controlling influence: possession of power, superiority, or preeminence: With his rivals in the ascendant, he soon lost his position.

an ancestor; forebear.

Astrology. the point of the ecliptic or the sign and degree of the zodiac rising above the eastern horizon at the time of a birth or event: the cusp of the first house.

adjective

ascending; rising.

superior; predominant.

Botany. directed or curved upward.

Nearby words

ascaridole, ascaris, ascaris lumbricoides, ascend, ascendancy, ascendant, ascendency, ascender, ascendeur, ascending, ascending artery

Origin of ascendant

1350–1400; Middle English ascendent < Latin ascendent- (stem of ascendēns) climbing up. See ascend, -ent, -ant

Related forms

non·as·cend·ant, adjectivenon·as·cend·ant·ly, adverbnon·as·cend·ent, adjectivenon·as·cend·ent·ly, adverb

un·as·cend·ant, adjectiveun·as·cend·ent, adjective

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

Examples from the Web for ascendent

The ascendent is that point of the zodiacal circle which is seen to be just ascending above the horizon at a given moment.
Chaucer's Works, Volume 3 (of 7)|Geoffrey Chaucer
Under Cyrus they became the ascendent power in Asia, and maintained their ascendency until their conquest by Alexander.
Beacon Lights of History, Volume IV|John Lord
But the people were for the moment in the ascendent, and Bacon should not be sacrificed.
Pioneers of the Old South|Mary Johnston
That man is ascendent now, does not, in the light of experience, mean necessarily that he will by any means remain so.
Human Life|Sherwood Sweet Knight

It was one of those "decisive battles" that made Prussia the ascendent power in Germany, and destroyed the prestige of Austria.
Beacon Lights of History, Volume X|John Lord

British Dictionary definitions for ascendent

ascendant

ascendent

/ (əˈsɛndənt) /

adjective

proceeding upwards; rising

dominant, superior, or influential

botany another term for ascending

noun

rare an ancestor

a position or condition of dominance, superiority or control

astrology (sometimes capital)

a point on the ecliptic that rises on the eastern horizon at a particular moment and changes as the earth rotates on its axis
the sign of the zodiac containing this point

in the ascendant increasing in influence, prosperity, etc

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