# ascend

> English word · Verb · IPA /əˈsɛnd/ · frequency rank #21,139

## Definitions
1. To move upward, to fly, to soar.
2. To slope in an upward direction.
3. To go up.
4. To succeed a ruler on (the throne).
5. To rise; to become higher, more noble, etc.
6. To trace, search or go backwards temporally (e.g., through records, genealogies, routes, etc.).
7. To become higher in pitch.
8. To cease being an incel, generally by losing one's virginity and engaging in sexual intercourse, or by forming a romantic relationship.

## Etymology
From Middle English ascenden, borrowed from Old French ascendre, from Latin ascendō (“to go up, climb up to”), from ad (“to”) + scandō (“to climb”); see scan. Unrelated to accede other than common ad prefix.

## Easily confused with
- **asked** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/ascend-vs-asked)
- **aspen** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/ascend-vs-aspen)
- **assed** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/ascend-vs-assed)
- **attend** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/ascend-vs-attend)
- **ascent** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/ascend-vs-ascent)
- **assent** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/ascend-vs-assent)
- **ascended** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/ascend-vs-ascended)
- **aced** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/aced-vs-ascend)
- **amend** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/amend-vs-ascend)
- **accent** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/accent-vs-ascend)
- **append** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/append-vs-ascend)

## Common misspellings (9)
`acsend`, `asccend`, `ascedn`, `ascendd`, `ascennd`, `ascned`, `asecnd`, `asscend`, `sacend`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/ascend