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descent

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noun British English pronunciation: descent /dɪˈsent/ 
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singulardescent
pluraldescents
  1. 2
    [uncountable] the origin of your parents or other older members of your family
    be of Irish/Polish etc descent:

    They’re all of Irish descent.

    by descent:

    My mother is German by descent.

  2. 3
    [singular] the process of gradually changing to a worse condition
    descent into/to:

    her gradual descent into alcoholism

  3. 4
    [singular] a sudden and unpleasant visit or attack

    my in-laws’ descent upon us last Sunday

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a speech habit in which a speaker lowers their voice at the end of a sentence

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