descend
verbTo move down from a higher place to a lower place.
verbTo slope or go downward in direction.
verbTo come down suddenly, often with force or in an unwelcome way.
verbTo get worse or fall into a worse state.
verbTo come down from an ancestor or be passed down in a family.
verbTo lower yourself by doing something you think is beneath you.
Syllables
2 syllables
Letters
Related words (same phonics pattern)
Phonics breakdown
Phonics Rule: Letter D
The letter D makes the /d/ sound, like in 'dog', 'day', and 'dig'. The tongue tip touches behind the upper teeth.
D is a voiced alveolar stop. The tongue tip touches the ridge just behind the upper front teeth, then releases with voice. It reliably makes the /d/ sound in almost all positions.
Tip
D is for dog — and dog starts with /d/!
Examples
Phonics Rule: Short E
The letter E makes a short sound, like in 'bed' and 'red'.
When the letter E appears in a closed syllable, it usually makes the short E sound /ɛ/. This is often confused with short I by new readers.
Tip
E says /ɛ/ like an egg on your head.
Examples
Phonics Rule: Soft SC says /s/
Before E, I, or Y, the SC says just /s/ — the C is soft, like in 'scene' and 'science'.
When SC comes before E, I, or Y, the C goes soft and SC says /s/ (scene, science, scent, scissors, descend). Before other letters SC says /sk/ (scan, score, school). A few words like 'muscle' also have a silent C in SC.
Tip
SC before E, I, Y is soft — you hear /s/ in the science scene!
Examples
Phonics Rule: Short E
The letter E makes a short sound, like in 'bed' and 'red'.
When the letter E appears in a closed syllable, it usually makes the short E sound /ɛ/. This is often confused with short I by new readers.
Tip
E says /ɛ/ like an egg on your head.
Examples
Phonics Rule: ND End Blend
ND at the end of a syllable blends /n/ and /d/ together, like in 'hand', 'sand', and 'send'.
ND is a common end blend (coda blend). The nasal /n/ and voiced stop /d/ are both heard. It appears very frequently in English words.
Tip
ND ends with a d-d-d — hand, sand, send!
Examples
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