ascendant, ascendent -- (position or state of being dominant or in control; "that idea was in the ascendant")
ancestor, ascendant, ascendent, antecedent, root -- (someone from whom you are descended (but usually more remote than a grandparent))
Overview of adj ascendant
The adj ascendant has 2 senses
ascendant, ascendent, ascensive -- (tending or directed upward; "rooted and ascendant strength like that of foliage"- John Ruskin)
ascendant, ascendent, dominating -- (most powerful or important or influential; "the economically ascendant class"; "D-day is considered the dominating event of the war in Europe")