as in bowing
bending downward or forward
with descending heads the mourners made their way to the burial site
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in falling
to lead or extend downward
the pathway descends to the river bank
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in deteriorating
to become worse or of less value
the order of the classroom descended into chaos when the teacher left the room
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in plunging
to go to a lower level especially abruptly
leaves slowly descended from the branches in the gentle autumn wind wait for the elevator to descend
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
4
as in dismounting
to come down from something (as a vehicle)
the driver descended from the truck's cab, dreading to see what he had hit
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of descending
Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic,
Forbes.com,
19 June 2026
For the most part, most of them wore gowns that could fit through the revolving door at the Hotel Du Cap onto the grand descending stairway, read few came close to rivaling Skye Hankey’s boa yellow dress last year which provided an elegant challenge for exits and entrances.
—
Anthony D'alessandro,
Deadline,
22 May 2026
Then, the repetitive descending melody is interrupted and restarts; in this musical rupture the trance is broken.
—
Holden Seidlitz,
New Yorker,
20 Mar. 2026
Paul Caputo,
Forbes.com,
27 June 2026
The steeply descending main street of Haworth is filled with tea shops, pubs and stores clearly dedicated to pleasing Brontë pilgrims, but its basic form, including the original stationery store where the sisters once bought their paper, remains the same.
—
Tribune News Service,
Baltimore Sun,
26 June 2026
In an effort to do the impossible, here are the best group of fans that have visited Arlington Stadium in Arlington, Texas, at this World Cup, in descending order.
—
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
26 June 2026
Maybe a better balance would’ve kept the finale from descending into schmaltz.
—
Ben Travers,
IndieWire,
26 June 2026
Limbs and blood flow everywhere, setting the stage for a movie all about Gotham descending into hell.
—
Rafael Motamayor,
Variety,
24 June 2026
All the other Buzz toys follow suit, dropping into the playground like soldiers descending into battle, and the rest of the kids all excitedly grab one to play with.
—
Brendan Morrow,
USA Today,
20 June 2026
If only the look from the outside-in had measured up the same way instead of descending into a fiasco as thousands faced infuriating delays getting to the stadium.
—
Kansas City Star,
17 June 2026
The pair can later be seen getting blasted out of a skyscraper, with the Hulk webbed up within its descending debris.
—
Emlyn Travis,
Entertainment Weekly,
17 June 2026
Adjective
The three-part framework is, at its core, a descending order of difficulty and an ascending order of effectiveness.
—
Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic,
Forbes.com,
19 June 2026
For the most part, most of them wore gowns that could fit through the revolving door at the Hotel Du Cap onto the grand descending stairway, read few came close to rivaling Skye Hankey’s boa yellow dress last year which provided an elegant challenge for exits and entrances.
—
Anthony D'alessandro,
Deadline,
22 May 2026
Then, the repetitive descending melody is interrupted and restarts; in this musical rupture the trance is broken.
—
Holden Seidlitz,
New Yorker,
20 Mar. 2026
Verb
Brigitte Chevalier built Domaine de Cébène around that principle, choosing north-facing parcels beneath mountains rising to 1,100 meters, where descending cool air pushes her harvest as much as two weeks later than vineyards on the coast 40 kilometers away.
—
Paul Caputo,
Forbes.com,
27 June 2026
The steeply descending main street of Haworth is filled with tea shops, pubs and stores clearly dedicated to pleasing Brontë pilgrims, but its basic form, including the original stationery store where the sisters once bought their paper, remains the same.
—
Tribune News Service,
Baltimore Sun,
26 June 2026
In an effort to do the impossible, here are the best group of fans that have visited Arlington Stadium in Arlington, Texas, at this World Cup, in descending order.
—
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
26 June 2026
Maybe a better balance would’ve kept the finale from descending into schmaltz.
—
Ben Travers,
IndieWire,
26 June 2026
Limbs and blood flow everywhere, setting the stage for a movie all about Gotham descending into hell.
—
Rafael Motamayor,
Variety,
24 June 2026
All the other Buzz toys follow suit, dropping into the playground like soldiers descending into battle, and the rest of the kids all excitedly grab one to play with.
—
Brendan Morrow,
USA Today,
20 June 2026
If only the look from the outside-in had measured up the same way instead of descending into a fiasco as thousands faced infuriating delays getting to the stadium.
—
Kansas City Star,
17 June 2026
The pair can later be seen getting blasted out of a skyscraper, with the Hulk webbed up within its descending debris.
—
Emlyn Travis,
Entertainment Weekly,
17 June 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for descending
Adjective
-
James O’Donoghue, a planetary scientist with the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, likened our planet’s tilting phenomenon to a nodding head.
Verb
-
The aim is to prevent the level of pensions from falling and ward off the need for a big long-term increase of the levy employees pay into the pension system.
-
Low temperatures will remain warm and humid, falling only into the upper 70s.
Verb
-
That enables Cadence’s system, which is supervised by physicians, to alert a clinician when a patient is deteriorating before a stroke or heart attack, for example.
-
By the time the kids make it to the Gullet, the situation is deteriorating.
Verb
-
South Korea’s Kospi jumped more than 3% after plunging roughly 10% on Tuesday.
-
The swimsuit featured a plunging neckline, asymmetrical waist cutouts and thin wraparound straps that accentuated her figure.
Verb
-
The popular halftime performer known as Red Panda finished her signature seven-minute set, looked up at a crowd of fans chanting her name and flashed a smile before dismounting.
-
The woman told investigators Herzing had made similar threats in July, which resulted in the victim suffering minor scrapes after dismounting at a stoplight.
Adjective
-
And every day, across from them, outside the clinic, about to enter or just leaving, there were women hugging each other and weeping.
-
The show manages to stay on the brink — always laughing, never quite weeping — for its entire length.
Verb
-
The modern silhouette’s low back and sloping arms provide a comfy foundation for anyone lucky enough to be invited in for a drink.
-
The plans have touched off stiff opposition from neighbors worried about soil erosion, already a problem in an area of steeply sloping topography, and potential well contamination.
Verb
-
In the temple's crumbling courtyard, little remains… mostly empty pedestals scattered among the Sralao trees.
-
This medieval village was built onto a cliff overlooking the sea, where you can get lost in the narrow lanes among crumbling buildings with laundry dangling on clotheslines.
Cite this Entry
“Descending.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/descending. Accessed 30 Jun. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
