variants
also descendent
as in weeping
bending downward or forward
the descendant branches of a weeping willow
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
variants
also descendent
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of descendant
Kate Armanini, Chicago Tribune, 10 Aug. 2024
Oliver Origin: German, French Meaning: Olive tree, ancestors descendant
Alternative Spellings & Variations: Olivier (French)
Famous Namesakes: Actor Oliver Hudson, athlete Oliver Kahn
Peak Popularity: Oliver jumped to the #3 most popular boy name in 2019 and has remained since.
—Casey Clark, Parents, 30 July 2024
Martha McHardy, MSNBC Newsweek, 13 May 2025
Trump’s order specifically referred to Afrikaners, descendants of mainly Dutch colonial settlers who arrived in South Africa in the 1600s and controlled the country from 1948 to 1994 through the racial separation laws known as apartheid.
—Brian Bennett, Time, 12 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for descendant
Adjective
According to data presented at the May 2 meeting, the program has paid more than $4.8 million to 193 recipients across the ancestor and descendant categories.
—Kate Armanini, Chicago Tribune, 10 Aug. 2024
Oliver Origin: German, French Meaning: Olive tree, ancestors descendant
Alternative Spellings & Variations: Olivier (French)
Famous Namesakes: Actor Oliver Hudson, athlete Oliver Kahn
Peak Popularity: Oliver jumped to the #3 most popular boy name in 2019 and has remained since.
—Casey Clark, Parents, 30 July 2024
Noun
The new arrivals are Afrikaners—descendants of mainly Dutch and French colonial settlers—who make up about 2.7 million of South Africa's 62 million people, more than 80 percent of whom are Black.
—Martha McHardy, MSNBC Newsweek, 13 May 2025
Trump’s order specifically referred to Afrikaners, descendants of mainly Dutch colonial settlers who arrived in South Africa in the 1600s and controlled the country from 1948 to 1994 through the racial separation laws known as apartheid.
—Brian Bennett, Time, 12 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for descendant
Recent Examples of Synonyms for descendant
Adjective
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And every day, across from them, outside the clinic, about to enter or just leaving, there were women hugging each other and weeping.—
David Mamet,
National Review,
11 Aug. 2022
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The show manages to stay on the brink — always laughing, never quite weeping — for its entire length.—
Helen Shaw,
Vulture,
8 Dec. 2021
Noun
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Now, in an act of serendipity, the successors of both spots, Patsy’s Pizzeria in East Harlem and Juliana’s Pizza in Brooklyn, have delivered their first out-of-state restaurants to Palm Beach County to compete — like all New York-style pizzerias do — against each other.—
Phillip Valys,
Sun Sentinel,
17 May 2025
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His successor, Maresca, has certainly not won all of the fanbase over, even though a win at Nottingham Forest next week should secure a top-five finish and Champions League football for the first time in three years.—
Simon Johnson,
New York Times,
17 May 2025
Noun
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Based on the location, Hughes does not believe the snake is a hybrid, or the offspring of two different parent species.—
Sarah Kuta,
Smithsonian Magazine,
16 May 2025
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Expert help is recommended because a mom, if cornered, likely will defend her offspring.—
Arricca Elin SanSone,
Southern Living,
7 May 2025
Noun
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Some images depict mothers as goddesses or warriors, ready to rise in righteous defense of their progeny.—
Seyward Darby,
Vogue,
3 May 2025
-
Over the past decade, cartel-forward films and TV shows—Narcos, Sicario, Breaking Bad, and their progeny—have permeated both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border.—
Antón Barba-Kay,
The Atlantic,
26 Apr. 2025
Noun
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The scion of Egypt's wealthiest family has an immense fortune that Forbes values at $9.3 billion, which includes co-ownership of Aston Villa Football Club.—
Robert Olsen,
Forbes.com,
14 May 2025
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Luck is the scion of the football program, a lovable nerd who happened to be the best quarterback in football, aka the perfect Stanford athletics niche: smart and good.—
Chris Branch,
New York Times,
1 May 2025
Adjective
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Of the other methods – including electrocution, lethal gas and hanging – lethal injection had the highest botch rate of more than 7%. ‘An embrace of brutality’ Still, states have remained averse to the firing squad, a position that experts who spoke to CNN believe stems from its overt violence.—
Dakin Andone,
CNN Money,
10 Apr. 2025
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The neutral material keeps it from looking like an eye sore and can be expanded for more hanging space as needed.—
Micaela Arnett,
Rolling Stone,
10 Jan. 2024
Noun
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While recording a commercial focused on hopes for one’s children, the script struck a personal chord.—
William Jones,
USA Today,
17 May 2025
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Piper Perabo delivers a heartbreaking portrayal of a mother whose desperation leads her to hold hostage the doctors who are responsible for her child’s care.—
Max Gao,
Variety,
16 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Descendant.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/descendant. Accessed 28 May. 2025.
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