descended
Americanadjective
-
having a specified ancestry or ethnic origin.
She was the only daughter of a wealthy baron and his royally descended wife.
-
having gone from a higher place or position to a lower one.
The cooled and descended air then travels along the earth’s surface toward the equator to replace air rising from the equatorial zone.
He was hailed as some descended godhead on earth—an avatar.
-
inherited or transmitted, as through succeeding generations of a family.
Early mammals generally possessed claws, and all existing cat species carry that descended trait.
-
derived from something in the remote past, especially through continuous transmission.
Traditional religions tend to focus on descended practice and ritual rather than on doctrine taught by a religious institution.
verb
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of descended
First recorded in 1560–70; descend ( def. ) + -ed 2 ( def. ) for the adjective senses; descend ( def. ) + -ed 1 ( def. ) for the verb sense
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.
Travel was in his bones, and his brief time as a professional musician in the 1930s coincided with the Great Migration, wherein black Americans descended from slaves moved north in search of better lives.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 23, 2026
Think back to winter, when waves of federal agents descended on Minnesota.
From Slate • Jun. 22, 2026
The primate species that are with us today are descended from these highly mobile ancestors.
From Science Daily • Jun. 20, 2026
Prosecutors said while the protest was initially peaceful, it descended into "serious public disorder" at about 17:30 BST.
From BBC • Jun. 17, 2026
A cold sweat dewed on my neck as I descended the stairs.
From "The City Beautiful" by Aden Polydoros
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.
