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.

Bessent responded that the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, which oversees bank license applications, was an independent entity before the testimony descended into a shouting match.

From The Wall Street Journal

In another scene, she chases a lovelorn boy to the roof of a local building, remaining there to enjoy the view and the wind in her hair after he’s descended.

From Salon

Luckily, I’d glimpsed a space between two of them before darkness descended, and I groped my way to it while Yao seemed to fall into instant slumber.

From Literature

Don Lemon was in Los Angeles to cover the Grammys when, late Thursday night, more than two dozen federal agents descended on a Beverly Hills hotel and arrested him.

From Salon

A midwinter heat wave has descended on much of the state and is expected to spike temperatures as much as 20 degrees above normal in the coming week.

From Los Angeles Times

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