ascendant
     adj 1: tending or directed upward; "rooted and ascendant strength
            like that of foliage"- John Ruskin [syn: {ascendent},
            {ascensive}]
     2: most powerful or important or influential; "the economically
        ascendant class"; "D-day is considered the dominating
        event of the war in Europe" [syn: {ascendent}, {dominating}]
     n 1: position or state of being dominant or in control; "that
          idea was in the ascendant" [syn: {ascendent}]
     2: someone from whom you are descended (but usually more remote
        than a grandparent) [syn: {ancestor}, {ascendent}, {antecedent},
         {root}] [ant: {descendant}]
Source: WordNet® 2.0