descend

descend
[[t]dɪse̱nd[/t]]
1) VERB If you descend or if you descend a staircase, you move downwards from a higher to a lower level. [FORMAL]

[V prep] Things are cooler and more damp as we descend to the cellar...

[V n] She walked over to the carpeted stairs at the end of the corridor and descended one flight. [Also V]

Syn:
Ant:
2) VERB When a mood or atmosphere descends on a place or on the people there, it affects them by spreading among them. [LITERARY]

[V on/upon/over n] An uneasy calm descended on the area...

[V on/upon/over n] A reverent hush descended on the multitude. [Also V]

Syn:
3) VERB If a large group of people arrive to see you, especially if their visit is unexpected or causes you a lot of work, you can say that they have descended on you.

[V on/upon n] Some 3,000 city officials will descend on Capitol Hill on Tuesday to lobby for more money...

[V on/upon n] Curious tourists and reporters from around the globe are descending upon the peaceful villages.

Syn:
4) VERB When night, dusk, or darkness descends, it starts to get dark. [LITERARY]

Darkness has now descended and the moon and stars shine hazily in the clear sky.

Syn:
5) VERB (disapproval) If you say that someone descends to behaviour which you consider unacceptable, you are expressing your disapproval of the fact that they do it.

[V to n/-ing] We're not going to descend to such methods...

[V to n/-ing] She's got too much dignity to descend to writing anonymous letters.

Syn:
stoop, sink
6) VERB (emphasis) When you want to emphasize that the situation that someone is entering is very bad, you can say that they are descending into that situation.

[V into n] He was ultimately overthrown and the country descended into chaos.

Syn:
fall, slide

English dictionary. 2008.

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Synonyms:
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Look at other dictionaries:

  • Descend — De*scend , v. i. [imp. & p. p. {Descended}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Descending}.] [F. descendre, L. descendere, descensum; de + scandere to climb. See {Scan}.] 1. To pass from a higher to a lower place; to move downwards; to come or go down in any way,… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • descend — ► VERB 1) move down or downwards. 2) slope or lead downwards. 3) (descend to) lower oneself to commit (a shameful act). 4) (descend on) make a sudden attack on or unwelcome visit to. 5) (be descended from) be a blood relative of (an a …   English terms dictionary

  • descend — c.1300, from O.Fr. descendre (10c.) descend, dismount; fall into; originate in, from L. descendere come down, descend, sink, from de down (see DE (Cf. de )) + scandere to climb, from PIE root *skand jump (see SCAN (Cf …   Etymology dictionary

  • descend — [v1] move down, lower a cascade, cataract, cave in*, coast, collapse, crash, crouch, decline, deplane, detrain, dip, disembark, dismount, dive, dribble*, drop, fall, fall prostrate, get down, get off, go down, gravitate, ground, incline, light,… …   New thesaurus

  • Descend — De*scend , v. t. To go down upon or along; to pass from a higher to a lower part of; as, they descended the river in boats; to descend a ladder. [1913 Webster] But never tears his cheek descended. Byron. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • descend — de·scend /di send/ vi: to pass by inheritance de·scen·di·bil·i·ty / ˌsen də bi lə tē/ n de·scend·ible / sen də bəl/ adj Merriam Webster’s Dictionary of Law. Merriam Webster. 1996 …   Law dictionary

  • descend on — index attack Burton s Legal Thesaurus. William C. Burton. 2006 …   Law dictionary

  • descend — descend, dismount, alight mean to get or come down from a height. One descends when one climbs down a slope (as of a hill or mountain), a ladder, a step, a stair, a wall, or a tree; one dismounts when one gets down from a horse or from a bicycle… …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • descend — [dē send′, disend′] vi. [ME descenden < OFr descendre < L descendere, to climb down, fall < de , down + scandere, to climb < ? IE base * skend , * skand , to leap > Gr skandalon (> SCANDAL), Sans Skandati, (he) leaps] 1. to move …   English World dictionary

  • descend — de|scend [dıˈsend] v [Date: 1300 1400; : Old French; Origin: descendre, from Latin scandere to climb ] 1.) [I and T] formal to move from a higher level to a lower one ≠ ↑ascend ▪ Our plane started to descend. ▪ I heard his footsteps descending… …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • descend — verb 1 (I, T) formal to move from a higher level to a lower one: The plane started to descend. (+ from): He descended slowly from the railway carriage. | descend sth: Mrs Danvers descended the stairs. opposite ascend 2 (I) literary if darkness,… …   Longman dictionary of contemporary English

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