1
descend something
及物用法，宾语通常为楼梯、斜坡等。
She descended the stairs carefully.
她小心地走下楼梯。
下降；下来
descending — present participle of descend
先理解核心含义，再看它在真实句子里的用法。
下降；下来
to move downward and lower, but not necessarily all the way
She descended the stairs carefully.
她小心地走下楼梯。
从高处向低处移动的相关意义
Senses relating to moving from a higher to a lower position.
从一个来源传递到另一个事物的相关意义
Senses relating to passing down from a source to another thing.
descend
Base
原形
descends
3rd person
第三人称单数
descending
-ing
现在分词
descended
Past
过去式
descended
Past participle
过去分词
The path descends steeply.
这条小路陡峭下降。
She descended the stairs.
她下了楼梯。
The plane is descending now.
飞机正在下降。
As the plane began to descend, I could see the city lights below.
飞机开始下降时，我能看到下面的城市灯光。
The path descends steeply from the top of the hill to the river.
这条小路从山顶陡峭地向下延伸到河边。
She watched the sun descend below the horizon from the balcony.
她从阳台上看着太阳落到地平线以下。
及物用法，宾语通常为楼梯、斜坡等。
She descended the stairs carefully.
她小心地走下楼梯。
表示血统或起源。
He descends from a long line of artists.
他出身于艺术世家。
可表示进入某种状态或地方。
The elevator descended into the basement.
电梯降入地下室。
常带贬义，指降低身份做不光彩的事。
I never thought he would descend to cheating.
我从没想过他会堕落到作弊的地步。
Not this
She descended down the mountain.
Use this
She descended the mountain.
“descend”本身就表示“向下移动”，加上“down”会造成语义重复。直接使用“descend”或“go down”即可。
Not this
He is descend from a noble family.
Use this
He is descended from a noble family.
表示“是……的后裔”时，descend 需用被动语态（be descended from），不能直接使用原形。
Focus on the distinctions below. Other candidates are kept compact until a reliable usage note is available.
从…下来；是…的后裔
He descends from a noble family.
他是一个贵族家庭的后裔。
下降到；沦落到
The path descends to the river.
这条小路向下延伸到河边。
突然袭击；突然访问
Tourists descended on the small town during the holiday.
假期期间游客蜂拥而至这个小镇。
陷入（某种状态）
The country descended into chaos after the coup.
政变后国家陷入了混乱。
下楼梯
She descended the stairs slowly.
她慢慢地走下楼梯。
下山
The climbers descended the mountain safely.
登山者安全下山了。
陷入（混乱、糟糕状态）
The country began to descend into chaos after the election.
选举后，这个国家开始陷入混乱。
突然大批来访
Hundreds of fans descended on the stadium for the concert.
数百名粉丝突然涌入体育场参加音乐会。
自贬身份（做某事）
I never thought he would descend to such dishonest behavior.
我从未想过他会堕落到如此不诚实的行为。
圣灵像鸽子一样降临在他身上。
In the movie 'Bruce Almighty', the Holy Spirit descends like a dove.
在电影《冒牌天神》中，圣灵像鸽子一样降临。
Use descending naturally, then get feedback on meaning, tone, grammar, and phrasing.
Revisit a common error or keep this word in your review list.
联想“de-”向下，“scend”像“send”发送，想象发送东西向下移动，即下降、降低身份。
物理下降
Words ending in /sɛnd/ (ascend, transcend, condescend) rhyme with 'descend'. Note that 'descent' looks similar but ends in /sɛnt/, not /sɛnd/.
Dictionary facts from ECDICT, WIKTIONARY.