Synonyms of descending

descending 1 of 2

adjective

as in bowing

bending downward or forward

with descending heads the mourners made their way to the burial site

Synonyms & Similar Words

• bowing
• nodding
• weeping
• falling
• bowed
• hanging
• dangling
• declined
• declining
• hung
• sagging
• drooping
• inclining
• descendant
• stooping
• pendulous
• sinking
• floppy
• suspended
• droopy
• dipping
• pendent
• limp
• slumping

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• upright
• rigid
• erect
• stiff
• elevated
• unbending
• inflexible
• raised
• upraised

descending

2 of 2

verb

present participle of descend

1

as in falling

to lead or extend downward

the pathway descends to the river bank

Synonyms & Similar Words

• falling
• plunging
• sloping
• sinking
• dropping
• leaning
• dipping
• tilting
• declining
• inclining
• slanting
• angling
• tipping
• reclining
• listing
• cocking
• heeling
• canting

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• ascending
• rising
• climbing
• arising
• mounting
• uprising
• evening
• upturning
• upsweeping
• flattening
• straightening
• smoothing
• planing
• leveling

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

• deteriorating
• crumbling
• worsening
• declining
• diminishing
• degenerating
• sinking
• devolving
• ebbing
• retrograding
• decaying
• rotting
• regressing
• falling
• weakening
• disintegrating
• atrophying
• decomposing
• receding
• going to pot
• slipping
• sagging
• reducing
• going to seed
• waning
• dwindling
• downsizing
• degrading
• souring
• putrefying
• undermining
• corrupting
• moldering
• lowering
• abating
• drooping
• lessening
• dilapidating
• languishing
• debilitating
• spoiling
• flagging
• de-escalating
• running down
• lagging
• failing
• breaking down
• wasting (away)
• wilting

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• improving
• ameliorating
• upgrading
• intensifying
• proceeding
• strengthening
• meliorating
• enhancing
• bettering
• developing
• heightening
• marching
• enriching
• progressing
• advancing
• fortifying

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

• plunging
• falling
• tumbling
• dipping
• declining
• dropping
• plummeting
• sinking
• decreasing
• skidding
• crashing
• lowering
• diving
• cratering
• nose-diving
• subsiding
• retreating
• diminishing
• drooping
• dying (down)
• ebbing
• waning
• dwindling
• lessening
• moderating
• tapering off
• receding
• abating
• letting up
• de-escalating

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• ascending
• rising
• arising
• mounting
• lifting
• soaring
• increasing
• growing
• building
• expanding
• spiking
• swelling
• accumulating
• escalating
• intensifying
• upping
• enlarging
• burgeoning
• picking up
• mushrooming
• snowballing
• waxing
• ballooning

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

• dismounting
• disembarking
• alighting
• lighting
• getting down
• deplaning
• detraining

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• embarking
• mounting
• climbing (aboard)
• getting in
• boarding
• entraining
• enplaning

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of descending

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

The unrest was followed by sustained opposition to government efforts to house asylum seekers in communities across the country, with some protests also descending into violent clashes. — Michael Dorgan, FOXNews.com, 30 Sep. 2026

The FlyDubai flight traveling from the United Arab Emirates to Israel landed safely after issuing an emergency alert and abruptly descending thousands of feet (meters). — Samy Magdy, Fortune, 30 Sep. 2026

After a weekend of alarming headlines about AI mishaps, public sector breaches, and agents gaining unauthorized access to outside systems, tech and AI CEOs are descending on Washington yet again this week. — Ashley Gold, semafor.com, 28 Sep. 2026

The lengthy opening sequence ends with the camera literally descending into one of the guy’s butts and then up into his bowels, which could be read as a metaphor for this entire project. — Jordan Mintzer, HollywoodReporter, 28 Sep. 2026

Founded in 1926, the largest and longest-running Italian festival in the United States celebrates its 100th anniversary this year, with locals and tourists alike descending upon Mulberry Street in Manhattan to celebrate Italian American culture. — Clare Whitton, The Conversation, 17 Sep. 2026

This novel’s narrator is a dog who lives on a farm in a nameless country that is descending into war. — The New Yorker, New Yorker, 14 Sep. 2026

United Airlines Flight 175, another Boeing 767 aircraft, which departed from Boston, was descending and heading for New York City. — Alexandra Skores, CNN Money, 10 Sep. 2026

All this coastal media was descending on this small town and characterizing it in terms of this one really bad thing. — Theater Critic, Los Angeles Times, 9 Sep. 2026