DESCENDENT Synonyms: 56 Similar and Opposite Words

descendant 1 of 2

adjective

di-ˈsen-dənt

variants also descendent

Definition of descendant

as in bowing

bending downward or forward the descendant branches of a weeping willow

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

descendant

2 of 2

noun

variants also descendent

as in successor

Related Words

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 descendant

Adjective

Don Jose, a perfect example that for Latinos rooted in ancestral Mesoamerican and Afro-descendant mutual aid customs, helping is not a choice. — Literary Hub, 17 Feb. 2026 The descendant, or seventh house of intimacy, is the opposite sign of the ascendant, which describes our ideal mate. — Lisa Stardust, Vogue, 14 Feb. 2026

Noun

In their debut cypher, dropped on the first day of 2026, his mid-tempo slur and curt verses immediately mark him as a descendant of Carti and SahBabii. — Dylan Green, Pitchfork, 3 July 2026 Not a descendant of an individual who was enslaved in United States, American Freedmen. — Nick Lentz, CBS News, 22 June 2026 See All Example Sentences for descendant

Recent Examples of Synonyms for descendant

Adjective

James O’Donoghue, a planetary scientist with the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, likened our planet’s tilting phenomenon to a nodding head.

— Aylin Woodward, WSJ, 21 Dec. 2021

Definition of nodding

Noun

His successor will be Ukraine’s fifth defense minister since Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022.

— Tim Lister, CNN Money, 16 July 2026
Competing visions The nationalists were members of the Constitutional Convention that met in Philadelphia in the Summer of 1787 to draft the successor to the articles, the United States Constitution.

— Donovan Fifield, The Conversation, 16 July 2026

Definition of successor

Adjective

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
The show manages to stay on the brink — always laughing, never quite weeping — for its entire length.

— Helen Shaw, Vulture, 8 Dec. 2021

Definition of weeping

Noun

Parenting was a haphazard experiment for even the best intentioned, and Helen and John observed their offspring, Bo, DH, and Mido, with profound fascination, as only parents can.

— Min Jin Lee, New Yorker, 19 July 2026
Sharks reproduce slowly, with fewer offspring than many bony fishes, which increases their vulnerability.

— ABC News, ABC News, 17 July 2026

Definition of offspring

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

Definition of descending

Noun

Only in these United States can the progeny of people once portrayed as parasites and invaders side with those making the same argument about the latest batch of newcomers.

— Gustavo Arellano, Los Angeles Times, 1 July 2026
That that fondness would define the very identity of her progeny?

— Barry Levitt, Time, 19 June 2026

Definition of progeny

Noun

The writers guild’s missive creates a second line of attack against tech scion David Ellison’s industry-reshaping deal.

— Meg James, Los Angeles Times, 14 July 2026
With Norton and the green play, the young scion, who’s based himself in Singapore since 2018, hopes to achieve his global goal.

— Naazneen Karmali, Forbes.com, 10 July 2026

Definition of scion

Noun

The investigation is part of a broader crackdown on what’s known as birth tourism, the practice of traveling to another country, so a child is born there.

— Tiffani Jackson, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 19 July 2026
Much has once again been made of that famous 2007 photoshoot in which Messi was pictured bathing a young child, which turned out to be Yamal.

— Ben Church, CNN Money, 19 July 2026

Definition of child

Browse Nearby Words

descend

descendant

descendants

See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

Style

“Descendant.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/descendant. Accessed 20 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation

Synonyms of descendant

adjective

noun

Example Sentences

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

More from Merriam-Webster on descendant

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

raffish

Popular in Grammar & Usage

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Do you 'say your piece' or 'say your peace'?

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Commonly Misspelled Words

Popular in Wordplay

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat

The Longest Long Words List

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

Why do we say 'fly off the handle'?

Popular

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat

Games & Quizzes