Entry Word: ascent

Function: noun

Meaning: 1 the act or an instance of rising or climbing up <our plane broke through some heavy low clouds during its ascent and leveled off once we were above them>

Synonyms ascension, climb, rise, rising, soar

Related Words boost, hike, increase, raise; elevation, levitation, lift-off, raising, takeoff; heave, upheaval, uplifting, upraising, upsurge, upsweep, upswing, uptrend, upturn, upwelling

Near Antonyms dive, nosedive, plop, plummeting, plunge, sinking; decline, decrease

Antonyms descent, dip, drop, fall

2 an upward slope <weʼd reached the final ascent of the trail to the summit>

Synonyms rise, upgrade

Related Words grade, incline; climb, hump, mound, ridge, swell

Near Antonyms basin, depression, hollow

Antonyms declension, decline, declivity, descent, downgrade

3 a raising or a state of being raised to a higher rank or position <his long, gradual ascent into the ranks of management> — see advancement 1