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ascendant

or as·cend·ent

[uh-sen-duh nt]
See more synonyms for ascendant on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. a position of dominance or controlling influence: possession of power, superiority, or preeminence: With his rivals in the ascendant, he soon lost his position.
  2. an ancestor; forebear.
  3. 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.
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adjective
  1. ascending; rising.
  2. superior; predominant.
  3. Botany. directed or curved upward.
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Origin of ascendant

1350–1400; Middle English ascendent < Latin ascendent- (stem of ascendēns) climbing up. See ascend, -ent, -ant
Related formsnon·as·cend·ant, adjectivenon·as·cend·ant·ly, adverbnon·as·cend·ent, adjectivenon·as·cend·ent·ly, adverbun·as·cend·ant, adjectiveun·as·cend·ent, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for ascendent

Historical Examples

  • But the people were for the moment in the ascendent, and Bacon should not be sacrificed.

    Pioneers of the Old South

    Mary Johnston

  • The chief of the ascendent political party was the real ruler.

  • 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

  • Under Cyrus they became the ascendent power in Asia, and maintained their ascendency until their conquest by Alexander.

  • But at this Abe's prudence deserted him, and righteous wrath rose to the ascendent.

British Dictionary definitions for ascendent

ascendant

ascendent

adjective
  1. proceeding upwards; rising
  2. dominant, superior, or influential
  3. botany another term for ascending
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noun
  1. rare an ancestor
  2. a position or condition of dominance, superiority or control
  3. astrology (sometimes capital)
    1. a point on the ecliptic that rises on the eastern horizon at a particular moment and changes as the earth rotates on its axis
    2. the sign of the zodiac containing this point
  4. in the ascendant increasing in influence, prosperity, etc
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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 ascendent

ascendant

adj.

late 14c., ascendent, astrological use is earliest, from Middle French ascendant (noun and adjective) and directly from Latin ascendentem (nominative ascendans), present participle of ascendere "to mount, ascend, go up" (see ascend). Sense "moving upward, rising" is recorded from 1590s. In the ascendant "ruling, dominant" (not, as is often thought, "rising") is from 1670s.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper