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
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Recent Examples of descending
Atharva Gosavi, Interesting Engineering, 3 Sep. 2025
Another cold front is descending across the Great Lakes region later Wednesday.
—Anna Skinner, MSNBC Newsweek, 3 Sep. 2025
That’s the only real plot-adjacent snippet in the clip, though there’s also a quick shot of Trump descending the steps of Air Force One with his sheepish-looking lover Satan following behind him.
—Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone, 2 Sep. 2025
Since then, The Invasion has been repeated every year, with hundreds of drag queens descending on The Pines to commemorate and celebrate this original act of protest.
—Chadd Scott, Forbes.com, 30 Aug. 2025
But Rodgers is moving forward, while Hart is descending into alcohol.
—Anne Thompson, IndieWire, 30 Aug. 2025
Those are just two of the stylish examples of A-listers descending on the famed Italian city in recent days as the world’s oldest film festival gets underway.
—Chris Gardner, HollywoodReporter, 28 Aug. 2025
With the film world descending on the Venice Film Festival today, Elev8on will be in Italy persuading potential partners about the virtues of their tech.
—Jesse Whittock, Deadline, 27 Aug. 2025
For years, cod was sold in the fish market at Hull, in northern England, by descending bids (the Dutch method) before switching to English, or ascending, bids later in the day.
—Sam Knight, New Yorker, 25 Aug. 2025
Verb
In late December 1980, US Air Force personnel stationed at RAF Woodbridge saw strange lights descending into the forest.
—Atharva Gosavi, Interesting Engineering, 3 Sep. 2025
Another cold front is descending across the Great Lakes region later Wednesday.
—Anna Skinner, MSNBC Newsweek, 3 Sep. 2025
That’s the only real plot-adjacent snippet in the clip, though there’s also a quick shot of Trump descending the steps of Air Force One with his sheepish-looking lover Satan following behind him.
—Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone, 2 Sep. 2025
Since then, The Invasion has been repeated every year, with hundreds of drag queens descending on The Pines to commemorate and celebrate this original act of protest.
—Chadd Scott, Forbes.com, 30 Aug. 2025
But Rodgers is moving forward, while Hart is descending into alcohol.
—Anne Thompson, IndieWire, 30 Aug. 2025
Those are just two of the stylish examples of A-listers descending on the famed Italian city in recent days as the world’s oldest film festival gets underway.
—Chris Gardner, HollywoodReporter, 28 Aug. 2025
With the film world descending on the Venice Film Festival today, Elev8on will be in Italy persuading potential partners about the virtues of their tech.
—Jesse Whittock, Deadline, 27 Aug. 2025
For years, cod was sold in the fish market at Hull, in northern England, by descending bids (the Dutch method) before switching to English, or ascending, bids later in the day.
—Sam Knight, New Yorker, 25 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for descending
Verb
-
And customers are falling for it.—
Christopher Elliott,
USA Today,
4 Sep. 2025
-
Other big stories ➤ The median rent on a one-bedroom Phoenix-area apartment is falling after the region led the nation in price increases in 2021.—
Lorenzino Estrada,
AZCentral.com,
3 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
By 6 months old, Luka was in end-stage liver failure, and his condition was deteriorating rapidly.—
Alyce Collins,
MSNBC Newsweek,
7 Sep. 2025
-
Nvidia’s price momo is deteriorating, slowly, according to the look here.—
John Navin,
Forbes.com,
6 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Observers warn that any attempt to disarm it by force risks plunging the country into civil conflict.—
Mostafa Salem,
CNN Money,
5 Sep. 2025
-
Some might argue that the United States is risking plunging itself into an ethically questionable war, but that is unlikely.—
Kristina Foltz,
MSNBC Newsweek,
4 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
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
-
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
-
Chaos erupted as people on board had to scramble onto the sloping deck.—
Emma Bussey,
FOXNews.com,
4 Sep. 2025
-
Yet the vertical bow, panoramic windows, and sloping stern form a design language instantly recognizable within the superyacht landscape.—
Julia Zaltzman,
Robb Report,
31 Aug. 2025
Verb
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The film got some of the best reviews at Sundance in January, then went to Berlin, where Rose Byrne got that festival’s Best Actress prize for her role as a mother who’s crumbling under the pressure of (among other things) a sick kid and a flooded apartment.—
Joe Reid,
Vulture,
5 Sep. 2025
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The catalyst for this a meeting with the school’s board — who look more like trustafarian hedge managers than social workers — where it is revealed that the grand but crumbling school building is going to be sold off at the end of the year.—
Damon Wise,
Deadline,
5 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Or the opposite, suddenly words are tumbling onto a page as if someone else is conducting.—
Beverly Gologorsky
September 5,
Literary Hub,
5 Sep. 2025
-
Renee Parenteau To say that Shannon Miller knows about tumbling in gymnastics would be an understatement.—
Bruce Y. Lee,
Forbes.com,
3 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Descending.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/descending. Accessed 10 Sep. 2025.
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