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
- 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.
Stars have previously descended on a number of venues in the Downtown area, and for much of the 1960s, the ceremony was hosted in the beachside city of Santa Monica.
From Barron's • Mar. 26, 2026
Thousands of people descended on a Birmingham park for what has become the biggest Eid celebration in Europe.
From BBC • Mar. 20, 2026
After a brief reprieve from sweltering temperatures over the weekend, dangerous heat once again descended on the region Monday, bringing a host of warnings from the National Weather Service.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 16, 2026
The last thing I remember is my vision tunneling as we descended a gentle slope.
From Salon • Mar. 9, 2026
The snow descended from the bleary sky in thick, heavy curtains, through a long night.
From "Abel's Island" by William Steig
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.
