descent, dissent

You ever get stuck on a definition and think, "yeah, uh, descent means, like, you know, to descend. Yeah. Descent. You know?" Definitions are a lost art. It doesn't help when I go to the dictionary and it says, "descent n. 1. the act or process of descending." Thanks, guy.

A descent is the passing to a lower degree or state. Dissent is a difference in opinion, especially from the majority.