variants
also descendent
as in weeping
bending downward or forward
the descendant branches of a weeping willow
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
variants
also descendent
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
The Rev. Jake Dell, Hartford Courant, 7 July 2025
The community’s descendants still honor the tradition today.
—AFAR Media, 3 July 2025
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
See All Example Sentences for descendant
Adjective
Picture a descendant of a 19th-century Yale donor—say, a Meriden lineman or Litchfield farmer—claiming a payout because his ancestor’s gift was misused.
—The Rev. Jake Dell, Hartford Courant, 7 July 2025
The community’s descendants still honor the tradition today.
—AFAR Media, 3 July 2025
Noun
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
See All Example Sentences for descendant
Recent Examples of Synonyms for descendant
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
Noun
-
And although DeKnight told EW that Spartacus himself is still dead in the timeline of this successor show, Liam McIntyre, who played the role on the previous Vengeance and War of the Damned seasons of the original drama, returned to moderate the conversation.—
Nick Romano,
EW.com,
27 July 2025
-
Smith’s successor Erik Engstrom, a former Elsevier CEO, has been in the job ever since and has built the business both organically and by regular bolt-on acquisitions, including five last year alone.—
Ian King,
CNBC,
23 July 2025
Noun
-
Similar to seahorses, male pipefish give birth to offspring.—
Lauren Liebhaber
July 9,
Miami Herald,
9 July 2025
-
That gene is then passed down to offspring at a higher-than-normal rate, gradually reducing the population’s ability to reproduce.—
semafor.com,
semafor.com,
8 July 2025
Noun
-
Useful software dependencies make their DNA easy to see and can be viewed with translucent clarity; opaque software dependencies are functional, but cloudy or muddied in terms of their ability to showcase their progeny and component parts.—
Adrian Bridgwater,
Forbes.com,
7 July 2025
-
In any other sport, the progeny of a former star player ascending to the highest level would be especially noteworthy.—
Steve Henson,
Los Angeles Times,
26 June 2025
Noun
-
Even before the cameras rolled, Ryan Murphy’s forthcoming American Love Story—a new anthology series, the first installment of which will chronicle style icon Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy and political scion John F. Kennedy Jr.’s whirlwind romance—proved controversial.—
Radhika Seth,
Vogue,
16 July 2025
-
Now, several Walton scions are flexing their monetary muscles in the direction of outdoor recreation.—
AFAR Media,
AFAR Media,
14 July 2025
Adjective
-
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
-
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
-
Around this time, a person broke a window and successfully rescued a child from the home while flames began to spread, police said.—
Kansas City Star,
Kansas City Star,
14 July 2025
-
Central to his story is his birth on the dying planet Krypton and his arrival as an outsider to Kansas, and the creators of the comic, Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, are children of European Jewish immigrants.—
Conor Murray,
Forbes.com,
14 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Descendant.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/descendant. Accessed 31 Jul. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share