Cadent

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Marked by a downward movement or a gradual drop in level
2. Exhibiting a pattern of reduction or a decreasing force over time
3. Showing qualities of a descent or fading in intensity over a period

Etymology: "Cadent" comes straight from Latin "cadens", meaning "falling", the present participle of "cado", "to fall". The English adjective keeps that physical sense of something sinking or dropping, and in its musical and poetic uses it describes a falling rhythm or cadence, a sequence of sounds or beats that sinks toward a close. The extended sense of gradually fading in intensity grows naturally from the same image. A sound, light, or feeling that drops away over time is following the downward path that the Latin root describes, so the word moves from a literal fall to a slow decline in strength.

Synonyms: falling, descending

Antonyms: ascending, rising