as in bowing
bending downward or forward
with descending heads the mourners made their way to the burial site
Synonyms & Similar Words
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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
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Recent Examples of descending
Rosalyn Wikeley, Condé Nast Traveler, 10 Jan. 2026
The rampant unpacking of his account descending into ad hominem attacks feels counterintuitive to what people want from celebrities now, a patina of authenticity.
—Fran Hoepfner, Vulture, 8 Jan. 2026
Attorney General Pam Bondi posted a 45-second video of the operation on X, showing armed personnel descending onto the vessel's deck from a helicopter.
—CBS News, 4 Jan. 2026
Workers have also designated a dedicated drop-off lane on Monroe Street, with room for about five or six buses carrying rally or school groups descending on the Capitol.
—Jeremy Gorner, Chicago Tribune, 1 Jan. 2026
At the Squawk, Vickie is freaking out just at the moment El and Kali pull Max into their telepathic world of Blackness, just as the planet, aka the Abyss, starts descending.
—Kelly Lawler, USA Today, 31 Dec. 2025
The plane, however, disappeared from radar while descending for the emergency landing, the Turkish presidential communications office said.
—Arkansas Online, 25 Dec. 2025
Sunseri broke the speed record in 2024 for ascending and descending the 13,775-foot Grand Teton trail in Wyoming’s Grand Teton National Park, completing the ascent and descent in two hours, 50 minutes, and 50 seconds.
—The Editors, Outside, 25 Dec. 2025
The trail stays level early on and crosses the road a couple of times before descending through a grove of Arizona cypress to a shallow drainage.
—Roger Naylor, AZCentral.com, 8 Nov. 2025
Verb
The Sicilian way is to lie, like seals, sprawled along the rocks with a towel and a cold beer before descending abruptly into intense shades of blue.
—Rosalyn Wikeley, Condé Nast Traveler, 10 Jan. 2026
The rampant unpacking of his account descending into ad hominem attacks feels counterintuitive to what people want from celebrities now, a patina of authenticity.
—Fran Hoepfner, Vulture, 8 Jan. 2026
Attorney General Pam Bondi posted a 45-second video of the operation on X, showing armed personnel descending onto the vessel's deck from a helicopter.
—CBS News, 4 Jan. 2026
Workers have also designated a dedicated drop-off lane on Monroe Street, with room for about five or six buses carrying rally or school groups descending on the Capitol.
—Jeremy Gorner, Chicago Tribune, 1 Jan. 2026
At the Squawk, Vickie is freaking out just at the moment El and Kali pull Max into their telepathic world of Blackness, just as the planet, aka the Abyss, starts descending.
—Kelly Lawler, USA Today, 31 Dec. 2025
The plane, however, disappeared from radar while descending for the emergency landing, the Turkish presidential communications office said.
—Arkansas Online, 25 Dec. 2025
Sunseri broke the speed record in 2024 for ascending and descending the 13,775-foot Grand Teton trail in Wyoming’s Grand Teton National Park, completing the ascent and descent in two hours, 50 minutes, and 50 seconds.
—The Editors, Outside, 25 Dec. 2025
The trail stays level early on and crosses the road a couple of times before descending through a grove of Arizona cypress to a shallow drainage.
—Roger Naylor, AZCentral.com, 8 Nov. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for descending
Verb
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Try to find a place that will block blowing or falling debris.—
CA Weather Bot,
Sacbee.com,
9 Jan. 2026
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Shop my favorite airport looks for winter travel below, with each outfit falling at or below $100.—
Julia Morlino,
Travel + Leisure,
9 Jan. 2026
Verb
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For now, all that can be said for certain, judging by the latest implosion in his current employers West Ham’s fast-deteriorating season, is that nobody has benefited from his falling-out with Edu and the sequence of events that brought about Nuno’s exit from the City Ground.—
Daniel Taylor,
New York Times,
7 Jan. 2026
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Iran has been racked by protests over the past several days around deteriorating economic conditions in the country, made worse by a growing water crisis and severe sanctions against Tehran.—
Brady Knox,
The Washington Examiner,
2 Jan. 2026
Verb
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In another look from the trip, Nader debuted a matching leopard-print top with a plunging neckline, finishing the outfit with oversized sunglasses, a straw cowboy hat and a gold pendant.—
Danielle Minnetian,
FOXNews.com,
14 Jan. 2026
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The Bridesmaids alum put a NSFW twist on power dressing at Cipriani 42nd Street on Tuesday night, turning heads in nothing but a sheer layer of mesh and a black velvet bow tie under her belly button-plunging blazer.—
Lara Walsh,
InStyle,
14 Jan. 2026
Verb
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The woman told investigators Herzing had made similar threats in July, which resulted in the victim suffering minor scrapes after dismounting at a stoplight.—
Lauren Breunig,
Twin Cities,
2 Dec. 2025
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The new cleat should be particularly appealing to racers – who need to snap back in as quickly as possible after dismounting – and to riders who are intimidated by the learning curve involved in using clipless pedals for the first time.—
New Atlas,
New Atlas,
28 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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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
Verb
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The property abuts a sloping canyon.—
Ashley Mackin Solomon,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
22 Dec. 2025
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Instead, as part of the national INA-Casa program, the architects Ludovico Quaroni and Mario Ridolfi created the Tiburtino neighborhood, a hilly maze of sloping streets, shaded stairways, and curving alleys.—
Justin Davidson,
Curbed,
16 Dec. 2025
Verb
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And behind every man with a good name and a crumbling pile, there’s a wife shrewdly attending to the seating plan.—
Amanda Whiting,
Vulture,
12 Jan. 2026
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Even with oil shipments from Venezuela, widespread blackouts have persisted across Cuba given fuel shortages and a crumbling electric grid.—
Dánica Coto,
Los Angeles Times,
12 Jan. 2026
Verb
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The footage shows Kim tumbling hard onto the snow and sliding across the halfpipe.—
Jackson Thompson,
FOXNews.com,
9 Jan. 2026
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Spencer Jones blocked Joel Embiid's tip-in attempt, tumbling over Edgecombe.—
Bennett Durando,
Denver Post,
6 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Descending.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/descending. Accessed 18 Jan. 2026.
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