“Descendant” or “Descendent”—Which to use?

“Descendant” or “Descendent”

Overview

descendant / descendent are similar-sounding terms with different meanings (referred to as homophones). To better understand the differences, see below for definitions, pronunciation guides, and example sentences using each term. 👇

Definitions

descendant: (noun) a person considered as descended from some ancestor or race. (adjective) going or coming down. (adjective) proceeding by descent from an ancestor.

descendent: NA

Pronunciation

descendant: d·ih·s·EH·n·d·ah·n·t

descendent: d·ih·s·EH·n·d·ah·n·t

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Examples in Context

Examples of “descendant”

…is popular among Italian and descendant of Italians from his native…
Descendant in the male line of…
…1965 to 1977, a Qajar descendant on his maternal side
…inherited by the eldest male descendant of Mohammad Ali Shah.
Arvasi was a descendant of the Islamic prophet, Muhammad,…
…earlier confrontations between a Sayyid (descendant of Muhammad) and the Jews…
…Rondy Fur Auction - the descendant of the original fur trade…
…of Machadodorp, is recognized by descendant groups to be the first…
…royal family, making Lucky his descendant.
According to a descendant, George Miller, who wrote extensively…

Examples of “descendent”

(Examples are Wikipedia snippets under the CC ShareAlike 3.0 license. Definitions drawn from WordNet.)

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