Synonyms

descended

American

[dih-sen-did] / dɪˈsɛn dɪd /

adjective

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

the simple past tense and past participle of descend.

Other Word Forms

undescended adjective

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.

Thousands of people descended on a Birmingham park for what has become the biggest Eid celebration in Europe.

From BBC

A sudden silence had descended on the stable yard.

From Literature

After the game ended with the Lakers stunning overtime victory, fans lined up to give him high-fives and cheer for him as his family descended a stairway.

From Los Angeles Times

They descended into a big valley of oak, ash and pine, and soon reached a wide silver river.

From Literature

Miss Buckner pressed the button marked B. The elevator descended with a loud hum, clicking at each passing floor.

From Literature

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023