Oh, yuh. I’ve come across a number of writers who are confused about the difference between decent, descent, and dissent (these last two are heterographs).
I’m guessing that the confusion over decent and descent was simply the missing “c” and spellcheck wouldn’t catch that. I do know that it was not a “trip to decent that mountain”. I could have missed some kind of reference to picking up litter on the way down. That would be one way to “decent that mountain”. God knows hikers are not always conscientious. Unfortunately, that thought didn’t fit the context.
Okay, this one cracked me up . . . “who is of Dutch decent”. Does that mean there are indecent Dutch?
A couple were confused about the difference between descent and ascent. I did have to wonder how a plane could crash on the valley floor when it was ascending.
As for the conflict I read between descent and dissent . . . No. It may well have been a decent dissent with no bottles thrown, but not when the writer is telling us that it’s a “descenting riot” . . .I’m sure they meant the riot was descending into chaos or some such. Oh, wait, maybe they meant they were cleaning the air! Ooh, I like that one.
Word Confusions . . .
. . . started as my way of dealing with a professional frustration with properly spelled words that were out of context in manuscripts I was editing as well as books I was reviewing. It evolved into a sharing of information with y’all. I’m hoping you’ll share with us words that have been a bête noire for you from either end.
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| Decent | Descent | Dissent |
|---|---|---|
 — |
 |
 — |
| Part of Grammar: | ||
| Adjective | Noun
Plural: descents |
Noun; Verb, intransitive Plural for the noun: dissents Third person present verb: dissents |
Conforming with generally accepted standards of respectable or moral behavior
[Attrib.] Of an acceptable standard
|
[Usually in singular noun] An action of moving downward, dropping, or falling
A passage or stairway leading down [Anthropology & Ethnology] The origin or background of a person in terms of family or nationality
[descent on] A sudden violent attack or raid [Legal] Transmission of real property by intestate succession [Medical] The passage of the presenting part of the fetus into and through the birth canal |
Noun: The expression or holding of opinions at variance with those previously, commonly, or officially held
Verb, intransitive:
|
| Examples: | ||
| After Hillary’s defeat, she should have done the decent thing and not go around hitting people and screaming like a fish wife.
Of course, Trump could do the decent thing and resign, relieving us of his idiotic tweets and tantrums. It was a shame that they had besmirched the good name of such a decent and innocent person. They would meet again after a decent interval. At least she’s wearing a decent high-necked dress. Make yourself decent, girl. People need decent homes and jobs. Oh lord, can you find me a decent cup of coffee? A 14-inch spread is a pretty decent buck. That was pretty awfully decent of him. |
The plane had gone into a steep descent.
It was a steep, badly eroded descent. The ancient empire’s slow descent into barbarism ended with a bang. Immigrants of German and Polish descent settled in Milwaukee. The descent of dozens of motorcycles terrified local residents. Harvey Weinstein’s career had a quick descent after the charges of harassment came to light. “To find the born and educated lady, on the other hand, we need look no farther than Hepzibah, our forlorn old maid, in her rustling and rusty silks, with her deeply cherished and ridiculous consciousness of long descent, her shadowy claims to princely territory, and, in the way of accomplishment, her recollections, it may be, of having formerly thrummed on a harpsichord, and walked a minuet, and worked an antique tapestry-stitch on her sampler” (Hawthorne). Be careful, it’s a fairly steep descent. The P-90 made an unexpected descent on the enemy airstrip. The birth of Mrs. Partridge’s eighth son was a very quick descent. |
Noun: There was no dissent from this view. The love-ins of the 1960s were intended as a peaceful form of dissent. There is considerable dissent between the Roman Catholic Church and Protestants and “oriental Churches”, including the Eastern Orthodox Church, over the publication of “Response to Some Questions Regarding Certain Aspects of the Doctrine on the Church”. In Mona’s family, dissent was not heard from the children. Verb, intransitive: There were only a couple of dissenting voices. The “95 Theses” posted by Martin Luther dissented the corruption of the Catholic Church. Too many husbands still believe it is the wife’s duty to neither assent or dissent their orders. Jamie could not dissent, as it had been his idea. |
| Derivatives: | ||
| Adverb: decently | Adjective: descendent Noun: descendant, descendeur, predescent, redescent Verb: descend |
Adjective: dissentient, dissenting, nondissenting, undissenting Adverb: dissentingly Noun: dissidence, dissenter, nondissenting |
| History of the Word: | ||
| Mid-16th century in the sense of suitable, appropriate, from the Latin decent- meaning being fitting, from the verb decere. | Middle English from the Old French descente, from descendre meaning to descend. | Late Middle English from the Latin dissentire meaning differ in sentiment. |
C’mon, get it out of your system, bitch, whine, moan . . . which words are your pet peeves? Also, please note that I try to be as accurate as I can, but mistakes happen or I miss something. Email me if you find errors, so I can fix them . . . and we’ll all benefit!
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Resources for Decent vs Descent vs Dissent
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Apple Dictionary.com
Dictionary.com: descent
Hawthorne, Nathaniel. The House Of Seven Gables. Grapevine, 2019. <https://amzn.to/3fKzL1A>. Ebook.
Pinterest Photo Credits:
Old Stone Stairs in Majorca is in the public domain, Lucha vaVoom, Big Day Out by Eva Rinaldi Celebrity and Live Music Photographer, and The Argument by Kurayba are under the CC BY-SA 2.0 license. All three are via VisualHunt.
Revised as of 10 Apr 2024
By: Kathy Davie