Family / C1

di-SEND-uh-nt/dɪˈsendənt/

A descendant comes later in a family line: a descendant of the first teacher. Ancestor is the opposite direction (already related in many syllabuses). Descent is the line or the downward slope. Descend is the verb. Do not mix descendant with descendent as a spelling; British academic English prefers descendant for the person.

Meaning

A person (or animal) who comes from an ancestor later in the family line.

Examples

• “She is a descendant of the town’s first teacher.”
• “She is a descendant of the founders, which is a fact of family, not a job title.”
• “Digital files are descendants of paper ledgers only as a metaphor; keep the family sense clear in history essays.”

Good to know

Someone later in the family line. Opposite direction: ancestor. Verb: descend. Descent = line or slope. Spelling: descendant.

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