I. noun
also as·cend·ent -dənt
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English ascendent, from Medieval Latin ascendent-, ascendens, from Latin, present part of ascendere to ascend
1. : the point of the ecliptic or degree of the zodiac that rises above the eastern horizon at any moment (as that of one's birth)
2. : the quality, state, or position of being supreme, dominant, or in power : the point of highest development or influence : preeminence , superiority
men who want the president to fight for this program now appear to be in the ascendant — E.K.Lindley
conservatism was in the ascendant — C.L.Jones
3. : a lineal or collateral relative in the ascending line : one that precedes in genealogical succession : ancestor
nearly the whole of a man's heredity must be supplied by his immediate ascendants — Havelock Ellis
II. adjective
also ascendent “
Etymology: Middle English ascendent, from Latin ascendent-, ascendens
1.
a. : moving or tending upward : rising
rooted and ascendant strength like that of foliage — John Ruskin
b. : directed upward
an ascendant stem
an ascendant leaf
an ascendant inflorescence
2.
a. : in a supreme, dominant, or powerful position : superior , preeminent , controlling
the proletariat, the ascendant class — Granville Hicks
b. : inclined to dominate : dominant
the chief difference between the ascendant and nonascendant child was in the amount of self-confidence — K.C.Garrison