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
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
"The Book Thief" by Markus Zusak, Part Six
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
Beowulf vocabulary
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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:
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
Liechtenstein has announced that it has changed royal succession rules to allow women to ascend the throne.
From BBC ● Aug. 15, 2026
Today one could add dozens of Trump-appointed lower-court judges, of whom Justice Barrett was the first to ascend to the Supreme Court.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 30, 2026
And the hair twined and blew and became a ladder upon which the guests might ascend, laughing, into the House.
From "The Martian Chronicles" by Ray Bradbury
As one ascends to the ample and airy interior, the Palisade experience improves considerably.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 8, 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
When magma ascends from deep within Earth, it can make the ground shake.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 27, 2025
After performing most of the first act as the raven-haired Mistress, Gaga ascends to a dance floor lit up like a chess board, competing against her opponent in a lethal, choreographed game.
From Salon ● Apr. 16, 2025
And a noise like a shrunken scream descends and ascends around us.
From "Harry Potter and the Cursed Child" by J.K. Rowling
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 king ascended the Scandinavian country's throne in January 1991 and has openly ruled out abdicating.
From BBC ● Aug. 17, 2026
At eleven o’clock President Cleveland ascended the stairs to the speakers’ platform, erected outside at the east end of the Administration Building, and took his seat, the signal for the ceremony to begin.
From "The Devil in the White City" by Erik Larson
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
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
Here, one second it was all ascending sparks, and the next it was all rain.
From "The Wednesday Wars" by Gary D. Schmidt
Random Word
Spin the wheel and learn a new word!
Get a wordDefinitions 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.
