əˈsend also aˈ- verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: Middle English ascenden, from Latin ascendere, adscendere, from ad- + -scendere (from scandere to climb) — more at scan
intransitive verb
1.
a. : to move upward : go up sometimes by stages with gradual motion : become raised
ascended to Mistover by a circuitous and easy incline — Thomas Hardy
ascend to the roof of her dwelling house — Lafcadio Hearn
b. : to appear above the horizon and approach the zenith
higher yet that star ascends — John Bowring
c. : to attain height through growth or construction : rise up : tower
the city ascended … taking the firmness of its foundation for granted — Frederic Beck
the redwood trees ascend over the others
d. : to slope upward : lie along a rising slope
the paths ascend through pine woods to the mountain lake
2.
a. : to go up or upward from a lower level or degree : rise
when man ceases to wander he will cease to ascend in the scale of being — A.N.Whitehead
doomed always to ascend to power under the worst possible objective conditions — Arthur Koestler
b. : to go back in time or in order of genealogical succession
female kin in the ascending generations are excluded — Mary Tew
c. of a sound : to rise in pitch
transitive verb
1. : to go or move up, upon, along, to the top of, or over : climb , mount
began to ascend the vale towards Mistover — Thomas Hardy
ascended the river farther than any white man had been before — L.H.Bolander
2. : to come to hold or occupy : succeed to
ascended the throne on the death of his father
Synonyms:
mount , climb , scale : ascend , a general term, lacks vivid connotation; it suggests merely upward movement, often with gradual or steady motion
to ascend a mountain
an ascending elevator
mount , in its transitive uses particularly, implies getting up on something raised, something above the ground
to mount a horse
the speaker mounting the platform
the condemned king mounting the scaffold
Intransitively, mount is a close synonym for ascend
as he proceeded south, his crossness seemed to mount with the temperature — Osbert Sitwell
climb may suggest sustained effort to reach a height or to go over something; it is especially likely to be used in situations involving clambering or scrambling
climbing out of the gulch
climbing up the rigging
climbing into the window
scale is likely to add to climb notions of dexterity and adroitness, as of an alpinist, athlete, or especially trained ladderman
scaling the highest peaks
the baron's men scaling the ramparts
a fireman scaling the wall
Synonym: see in addition rise .