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
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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
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
Its satirical video, depicting politicians descending into an all-out fistfight, proved especially prescient during the fevered atmosphere of the 2016 election cycle.
—
Spin Staff,
SPIN,
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
Let’s break it down by the jobs, which are numbered according to descending tear-off sheets on the contestants’ work stations.
—
Tasha Robinson,
Vulture,
16 June 2026
That’s why, to my mind, the more exciting development in Season 3 is much more intimate in scope than hordes of troops descending into chaos.
—
Alison Herman,
Variety,
15 June 2026
But there was something regal about a president descending those steps, or waving from the top of them, on foreign soil.
—
Ian Bogost,
The Atlantic,
12 June 2026
Ingredients are listed in descending order, meaning the first few ingredients make up the largest share of the food.
—
Amy Brownstein,
Verywell Health,
10 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
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
Its satirical video, depicting politicians descending into an all-out fistfight, proved especially prescient during the fevered atmosphere of the 2016 election cycle.
—
Spin Staff,
SPIN,
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
Let’s break it down by the jobs, which are numbered according to descending tear-off sheets on the contestants’ work stations.
—
Tasha Robinson,
Vulture,
16 June 2026
That’s why, to my mind, the more exciting development in Season 3 is much more intimate in scope than hordes of troops descending into chaos.
—
Alison Herman,
Variety,
15 June 2026
But there was something regal about a president descending those steps, or waving from the top of them, on foreign soil.
—
Ian Bogost,
The Atlantic,
12 June 2026
Ingredients are listed in descending order, meaning the first few ingredients make up the largest share of the food.
—
Amy Brownstein,
Verywell Health,
10 June 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for descending
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.
Verb
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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.
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Low temperatures will remain warm and humid, falling only into the upper 70s.
Verb
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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
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South Korea’s Kospi jumped more than 3% after plunging roughly 10% on Tuesday.
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The swimsuit featured a plunging neckline, asymmetrical waist cutouts and thin wraparound straps that accentuated her figure.
Verb
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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.
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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.
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.
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The show manages to stay on the brink — always laughing, never quite weeping — for its entire length.
Verb
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The road wound upwards, past a sloping graveyard and cedar trees.
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This one from Arhaus is currently over $1,000 off, with sloping arms for all-day comfort.
Verb
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Rather than crumbling after allowing the first-minute goal, Scotland has settled down and given itself a chance to get back into the game rather than conceded a quick, second goal.
-
The third project in Wilmington, near the Port of Los Angeles, would have fixed crumbling sidewalks and added high-visibility crosswalks.
Cite this Entry
“Descending.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/descending. Accessed 27 Jun. 2026.
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