Meaning & use
descendant
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Meanings
nouncountable
A person who comes from a particular ancestor, such as a child, grandchild or later relative in the same family line.
Grammar: Often followed by of: a descendant of the king. Usually plural in family contexts.
Patterns
- a descendant of someone
- direct descendant
She is a direct descendant of a famous Scottish poet.
Descendants of the original settlers still live on the island.
The old family left their house to their descendants.
nouncountablebiology
An animal, plant or species that has developed from an earlier kind over a long period.
Grammar: Used in biology and often followed by of: birds are descendants of dinosaurs.
Patterns
- a descendant of something
Birds are the living descendants of small feathered dinosaurs.
Today's dogs are descendants of wolves.
The apple tree in the yard is a descendant of one planted centuries ago.
nouncountablefigurative
Something that has developed from an earlier thing, such as a language, design or machine.
Grammar: Used figuratively for objects and ideas: a descendant of the first computers.
Patterns
- a descendant of something
Modern Italian is a descendant of Latin.
The smartphone is a descendant of the early pocket calculator.
This sports car is a distant descendant of the 1960s original.
Word forms
| plural | descendants |
|---|
Common combinations
- direct descendant
- He is a direct descendant of Charles Darwin.
- lineal descendant
- Only lineal descendants may claim the title.
- distant descendant
- She is a distant descendant of a French noble.
- living descendants
- The family has no living descendants.
- descendant of
- Many Americans are descendants of immigrants.
- surviving descendants
- Surviving descendants gathered for the reunion.
Synonyms and how they differ
- offspring
- Offspring means a person's or animal's children as a group, whereas descendant can reach through many generations.
- heir
- An heir is someone who inherits property or a title, which a descendant does not necessarily do.
- successor
- A successor takes over a role or position, while a descendant is a blood or developmental relation.
Opposites
Word family
- descend verb
- to come down, or to come from an ancestor
- descent noun
- family origin, or the act of going down
- descending adjective
- going downward
- descendent adjective
- coming down from an ancestor; a less common variant, also seen as a noun spelling
Commonly confused: descendant or ancestor? descendant or descendent?
descendant vs ancestor
An ancestor lived earlier in your family line, while a descendant comes later. Your grandmother is your ancestor and you are her descendant.
descendant vs descendent
Descendent is a variant spelling found as an adjective, and sometimes as a noun, but descendant is the standard noun and the safer choice.
Practice
Your great-grandmother is your ancestor. You are her ____.
Choose one answer.
A descendant comes after in the family line. Forebear and predecessor refer to those who came earlier, and successor means someone who takes over a position.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “descendant”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.