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⬇️ To go down 🌫️ To spread over 👑 To come from ancestors 👇 To lower standards
to descend

to descend

9 7.4
Do something you think is beneath your dignity
  • verb
  • /dɪˈsɛnd/
translation icon : rebajarse a
  • We kept the dispute between the town and the university from descending to the level of legal confrontation.

If we don't do that, we descend to the level of mere animals.

Examples

  • To allow emotive aspects into moral theory is to descend into an abyss of irrationality and mysticism.

    Academic text (1999)

  • Brian, I'm sorry to be the one to have to tell you this, but what started off as an interesting experiment... has quite frankly descended into a demeaning waste of your time and mine.

    Velvet Goldmine (1998)

  • One has to descend to your level.

    The Best Two Years (2004)

  • What causes a person to descend to such depths?

    Academic text (1997)

  • How, how do you not descend into a more hedonic style of living?

  • Although many of the shows aired on news networks, they often descended into gossip.

    Academic text (2000)

  • But if this is to be an English position we will maintain order under my judgment, lest we descend into chaos.

    Bunker (2023)

  • I refuse to descend to the childish behavior of my peers.

  • It's disappointing to see him descend to such petty arguments.

  • She decided not to descend to his level and instead walked away.

Synonyms

to degrade
vsto descend
55 5.1

To treat someone so they feel ashamed or less respected

is about doing something one judges beneath personal standards rather than being insulted
to demean
vsto descend
53 6.8

To make someone feel less respected or important

is about judging an action as beneath one's own standards rather than harming others
to bow down
vsto descend
30 3.7

Lower your head or body to show respect, often as a sign that you obey someone

is about judging an action as beneath one's dignity rather than physical submission
to stoop to
vsto descend
19 7.7

Do something you think is beneath you because you feel you have to

is similar but does not imply necessity or desperation
to stoop
vsto descend
11 8.1

To lower yourself by doing something you think is wrong

is about doing something one sees as beneath personal dignity generally
to deign
vsto descend
  • Formal
7 9.5

To do something someone thinks is below them, usually unwillingly

is the general act without implying reluctance or condescension
to lower oneself
vsto descend
  • Informal
4 6.5

Act in a way that makes people respect you less

is the same idea but judged against personal standards
to condescend
vsto descend
3 8.1

To do something you think is below you but do it anyway

is similar but lacks any sense of superiority or patronising tone

Antonyms

to elevate
128 3.9

To move something to a higher place or level

How Low

to stoop
11 8.1
to descend
9 7.4
to deign
  • Formal
7 9.5
to sink
358 1.0

Surface Forms

descend infinitive
descended past
descended past participle
descending present participle
descends third person singular

Morphology

descend = de + scend

Although analyzable as de- + scend, 'scend' is not a standalone English word and the prefixal analysis is not productive knowledge for most learners, so the meaning cannot be reliably derived from its parts.

Etymology

Descend can mean to lower yourself in behaviour because the roots de- 'down' and scendere 'to climb' give the picture of moving to a lower level. That's why to 'descend to' bad actions means you go 'down' from your usual standards.