Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Ascendency \As*cend"en*cy\, n.
   Governing or controlling influence; domination; power.

         An undisputed ascendency.                --Macaulay.

         Custom has an ascendency over the understanding.
                                                  --Watts.

   Syn: Control; authority; influence; sway; dominion;
        prevalence; domination.

Source : WordNet®

ascendency
     n : the state that exists when one person or group has power
         over another; "her apparent dominance of her husband was
         really her attempt to make him pay attention to her"
         [syn: {dominance}, {ascendance}, {ascendence}, {ascendancy},
          {control}]