Definitions of ascendant:

• noun:   position or state of being dominant or in control

  Example: "That idea was in the ascendant"

• noun:   someone from whom you are descended (but usually more remote than a grandparent)
• adjective:   tending or directed upward

  Example: "Rooted and ascendant strength like that of foliage- John Ruskin"

• adjective:   most powerful or important or influential

  Example: "The economically ascendant class"