| Noun | 1. | ascendent - position or state of being dominant or in control; "that idea was in the ascendant" | |
| 2. | ascendent - someone from whom you are descended (but usually more remote than a grandparent)relative, relation - a person related by blood or marriage; "police are searching for relatives of the deceased"; "he has distant relations back in New Jersey" | |
| Adj. | 1. | ascendent - tending or directed upward; "rooted and ascendant strength like that of foliage"- John Ruskinascending - moving or going or growing upward; "the ascending plane"; "the ascending staircase"; "the ascending stems of chickweed" | |
| 2. | ascendent - most powerful or important or influential; "the economically ascendant class"; "D-day is considered the dominating event of the war in Europe"dominant - exercising influence or control; "television plays a dominant role in molding public opinion"; "the dominant partner in the marriage" | |