in the ascendant
idiom
formal
: becoming more powerful : gaining more power
The President's party is no longer in the ascendant.
Examples of in the ascendant in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
An electoral coalition of the conspiracy cultures of both the Christian right and the countercultural left helped bring Donald Trump back to power, and now pseudoscience and paranoia are in the ascendant.
—
Hari Kunzru, The New York Review of Books, 18 Aug. 2022
Taking Influencers Seriously The role of influencers is changing in the ascendant political climate—one shaped by precarious economic conditions, political polarization, and crucially, a social and political assault on women's rights.
—Ron Estes, MSNBC Newsweek, 28 Mar. 2025
Far-right movements are in the ascendant in many countries in Europe, including Germany, but the continent’s parliamentary structures may restrain them more effectively than an anachronistic U.S. system that seems primed to usher in minority rule.
—Ishaan Tharoor, Washington Post, 4 Dec. 2023
In contemporary art, figurative painting is undoubtedly in the ascendant.
—Sebastian Smee, Washington Post, 25 Oct. 2023
Like Burton in ’64, the 40-year-old’s star is in the ascendant.
—Hayley Maitland, Vogue, 3 Apr. 2023
Spain had long been the dominant empire in Latin America, but Great Britain, which already possessed colonies along the American Eastern Seaboard, was now in the ascendant—and determined to break its rival’s hold.
—David Grann, The New Yorker, 28 Feb. 2023
Singh is the face of 46 brands in India and his equity is in the ascendant, according to the 2022 Celebrity Brand Valuation Report by Kroll (formerly Duff & Phelps).
—Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 6 Nov. 2022
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Hari Kunzru, The New York Review of Books, 18 Aug. 2022
Taking Influencers Seriously The role of influencers is changing in the ascendant political climate—one shaped by precarious economic conditions, political polarization, and crucially, a social and political assault on women's rights.
—Ron Estes, MSNBC Newsweek, 28 Mar. 2025
Far-right movements are in the ascendant in many countries in Europe, including Germany, but the continent’s parliamentary structures may restrain them more effectively than an anachronistic U.S. system that seems primed to usher in minority rule.
—Ishaan Tharoor, Washington Post, 4 Dec. 2023
In contemporary art, figurative painting is undoubtedly in the ascendant.
—Sebastian Smee, Washington Post, 25 Oct. 2023
Like Burton in ’64, the 40-year-old’s star is in the ascendant.
—Hayley Maitland, Vogue, 3 Apr. 2023
Spain had long been the dominant empire in Latin America, but Great Britain, which already possessed colonies along the American Eastern Seaboard, was now in the ascendant—and determined to break its rival’s hold.
—David Grann, The New Yorker, 28 Feb. 2023
Singh is the face of 46 brands in India and his equity is in the ascendant, according to the 2022 Celebrity Brand Valuation Report by Kroll (formerly Duff & Phelps).
—Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 6 Nov. 2022
Cite this Entry
“In the ascendant.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/in%20the%20ascendant. Accessed 25 May. 2025.
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