n. 25B6; noun
the plane began its descent : DIVE, drop; fall, pitch.
their descent of the mountain : DOWNWARD CLIMB.
a steep descent : SLOPE, incline, dip, drop, gradient, declivity, slant; hill.
his descent into alcoholism : DECLINE, slide, fall, degeneration, deterioration, regression.
she is of Italian descent : ANCESTRY, parentage, ancestors, family, antecedents; extraction, origin, derivation, birth; lineage, line, genealogy, heredity, stock, pedigree, blood, bloodline; roots, origins.
the descent of property : INHERITANCE, succession.
the sudden descent of the cavalry : ATTACK, assault, raid, onslaught, charge, thrust, push, drive, incursion, foray.