Ascendancy Meaning
/əˈsɛndənsi/Definition, CEFR level C2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
nounThe quality of being in the ascendant; dominant control, supremacy.
nounEllipsis of Protestant Ascendancy, a class of Protestant landowners and professionals that dominated political and social life in Ireland up to the early 20th century.
Sentence Examples
The ascendancy of monarchs is what keeps their subjects from rebellion.
He had been completely under his wife's ascendancy.
CEFR Practice Quiz
The political party's ____ in Parliament allowed them to pass new laws easily.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The new political party is gaining ____ in the local government polls.
Word Origin & History
From ascend + -ancy or ascendant + -cy. The use in ecology is due to Robert Ulanowicz.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"Spurs ended the half in the ascendancy and Van der Vaart was again inches away from giving them the lead when he met Bale's cross but his header flew wide."
— 2011 January 15, Phil McNulty, “Tottenham 0 - 0 Man Utd”, in BBC:
"The Tory hard right is in the ascendancy, and a fascist street movement – led by convicted fraudster Tommy Robinson – represents a growing threat."
— 2018 July 18, Owen Jones, “The hard right can only be defeated from the left, not from the centre”, in The Guardian:
"[W. B. Yeats] belonged not to the ascendancy class but to the protestant bourgeoisie."
— 1975, Terry Eagleton, New Left Review:
"True, the “ascendancy” remained a crucial and significant governing class in Irish life, and would remain so for generations."
— 2017, John Gibney, “The Age of O'Connell”, in A Short History of Ireland, 1500–2000, New Haven: Yale University Press, →ISBN:
"Ascendency was found to be a useful indicator for the health assessment of marine benthic ecosystems over space and time."
— 2009, Sven Erik Jørgensen, editor, Ecosystem Ecology, Academic Press, →ISBN, page 63:
Explore More C2 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The political party's ____ in Parliament allowed them to pass new laws easily.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The new political party is gaining ____ in the local government polls.