TOEIC Link Part 5: decent versus descent

Decent and descent are only one letter apart and sound nearly the same, but they belong to different grammatical categories. Decent is an adjective meaning good enough, adequate, or respectable. Descent is a noun meaning a downward movement, a decline, or a person's ancestry. One describes how acceptable something is; the other names a downward path or a family line. Because the spelling barely changes, Part 5 uses this pair to check whether you are reading the role of the blank, not just the letters. For the wider set of look-alike traps, start with the commonly confused word pairs master index.

The core rule: good enough versus going down

decent = satisfactory, adequate, or respectable (adjective). The role offers a decent salary and benefits. / They found a decent hotel near the venue. It answers how good? Link decent to adequate and respectable: it modifies a noun and rates quality.
descent = the act of going down; a decline; or ancestry (noun). The plane began its descent into the airport. / The company's descent into debt alarmed shareholders. / She is of French descent. It answers going down where, or from whom? Link descent to decline and lineage: it names a downward motion or a family origin, so it takes articles like a or the.

The spelling holds the clue. De-c-ent ends like other quality adjectives — rec-ent, effici-ent, compet-ent — so it describes. De-s-cent carries the climbing stem -scent/-scend, the same one in a-scent and de-scend, so it means going down. If the blank rates how acceptable something is, choose decent; if it names a downward movement, a decline, or ancestry, choose descent.

How Part 5 sets the trap

Part 5 leans on the near-identical spelling, so decide from the grammar and meaning of the slot.

After twenty years in the field, she earns a __ income.

The blank sits before the noun income and rates its quality, so it needs an adjective: decent. Now shift the frame:

Air-traffic control cleared the aircraft to begin its __.

Here _begin its ___ needs a noun naming a downward movement, so the answer is descent. Signal words: a / quite / very plus a noun after the blank point to the adjective decent; begin / the / rapid / steep plus into / to point to the noun descent.

Business collocations to memorize

decent: a decent salary, a decent proposal, a decent turnout, decent working conditions, a decent return on investment
descent: begin the descent, a steep descent, descent into recession, of Japanese descent, a controlled descent

TOEIC uses decent in sentences about pay, quality, and standards. It uses descent for aircraft and travel, financial decline, or someone's background.

Quick self-check

The startup offered a surprisingly __ benefits package. → decent (adjective, quality)
The captain announced the start of the __. → descent (noun, going down)
Analysts warned of the firm's __ into insolvency. → descent (noun, decline)
It was a __ effort given the tight deadline. → decent (adjective, adequate)

If the blank rates quality, choose decent; if it names a downward movement or ancestry, choose descent.

Related confusable pairs

defective versus deficient — another de- pair that fails in two different directions.
principal versus principle — a one-letter difference that changes the part of speech.
The full commonly confused word pairs master index collects every Part 5 look-alike trap in one place.