descendant

adjective

de·scen·dant | \di-ˈsen-dənt

variants: or less commonly descendent

Definition of descendant

(Entry 1 of 2)

1 : moving or directed downward listed in descendant order

2 : proceeding from an ancestor or source

descendant

noun

variants: or less commonly descendent

Definition of descendant (Entry 2 of 2)

1 : one originating or coming from an ancestral stock or source : one descended from another descendants of King David a descendant of an ancient grass

2 : one deriving directly from a precursor or prototype Italian and other descendants of Latin

Synonyms & Antonyms Did You Know? More Example Sentences Learn More about descendant

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Did You Know?

Descendant is the opposite of ancestor. Your grandparents' descendants are those who are descended from them—your parents, your brothers and sisters, and any children that any of you may have. It's been claimed that every person on earth is a descendant of Muhammad, and of every historical person before him—Julius Caesar, the Buddha, etc.—who started a line of descent. (Some of us still find this hard to believe.) And not all descendants are human; every modern thesaurus, for example, could be called the descendant of the one devised by Peter Mark Roget in 1852.

Examples of descendant in a Sentence

Adjective

the descendant branches of a weeping willow

Noun

One of the famous inventor's descendants is also an inventor. Many people in this area are descendants of German immigrants. Recent evidence supports the theory that birds are the modern descendants of dinosaurs. The Italian language is one of Latin's descendants.

Recent Examples on the Web: Adjective

American Jewry is also dominated by a European-descendant establishment, despite a significant and growing population of Jews of color who can have real problems feeling accepted in the community. — Zack Beauchamp, Vox, "Julia Salazar, the socialist politician accused of lying about her past, explained," 7 Sep. 2018 Today, local representatives from descendant communities visit the site twice a year and help guide the research. — Jon Hurdle, New York Times, "Ruined ‘Apartments’ May Hold Clues to Native American History," 4 Sep. 2017 The group was made up of friends of Ariana Rockefeller, the descendant grand-niece of the property's founder. — Avril Graham, Harper's BAZAAR, "Just Back From...A Long Weekend in Puerto Rico," 8 May 2017 A descendant sapling from a tree planted by children who were killed during the Holocaust was planted at Niles West High School Thursday, April 27, in honor of Arbor Day. — Mike Isaacs, chicagotribune.com, "Arbor Day: Sapling from tree grown during Holocaust planted at Niles West," 28 Apr. 2017 Protesters also poured into the streets of several cities in Chocó, the blackest department (comparable to a U.S. state), with an 80 percent African-descendant population. — Lori S. Robinson, The Root, "Fighting for Black Lives in Colombia: At War’s End, the Search for a Seat at the Table," 3 July 2017

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun

False accusations have spread on social media that the president is not actually Muslim and is a descendant of ethnic Chinese communists. — The Christian Science Monitor, "Indonesian elections hint at rise of political Islam in the secular country," 26 June 2018 Your print is probably a third-generation descendant of a painting that hangs in the Witte Museum. — Paula Allen, San Antonio Express-News, "San Antonio print’s colorful ancestor hangs at the Witte," 26 May 2018 Jane Patterson Clow is a descendant of Thomas Patterson, one of the Patterson brothers from Scotland who settled in south Naperville, and she was born on the Thomas Patterson farm. — Suzanne Baker, Naperville Sun, "3 Naperville women from same graduating class are turning 100 this year," 18 May 2018 Final disposition of their remains includes transfer to the city’s archeology laboratory before being released to any descendants. — Brian Macquarrie, BostonGlobe.com, "Winter weather helped uncover a dark past on Gallops Island," 3 May 2018 Carruthers, whose maiden name is Procter and is a descendant of the Procter & Gamble founders, has spent $176,000 on the race so far on advertisements and other expenses. — Jessie Balmert, Cincinnati.com, "Tanning salons, ghost candidates and party switchers: Nine local primaries to watch next week," 30 Apr. 2018 Furthermore, Markle will be the first person who is a descendant of slaves to marry into the British royal family—something that the tabloid press has seized on and trumpeted to tone-deaf (and often worse) effect. — Leslie Carroll, Vanities, "How Meghan Markle Was Destined for the Spotlight," 24 Apr. 2018 At Georgetown, university President John DeGioia announced in 2016 that the school will give preferential treatment to descendants of slaves for recruitment to the university. — Kristi Eaton /, NBC News, "'Liberty and slavery are intertwined:' How universities are addressing undesirable pasts," 18 Jan. 2018 Their descendants have formed the backbone of a number of populist movements, from Andrew Jackson to Donald Trump. — John Steele Gordon, WSJ, "A Short History of American Immigration," 20 Nov. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'descendant.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.