decline

[ dih-klahyn ]

/ dɪˈklaɪn /

SEE SYNONYMS FOR decline ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used with object), de·clined, de·clin·ing.

to withhold or deny consent to do, enter into or upon, etc.; refuse: He declined to say more about it.

to express inability or reluctance to accept; refuse with courtesy: to decline an invitation; to decline an offer.

to cause to slope or incline downward.

Grammar.

to inflect (a noun, pronoun, or adjective), as Latin puella, declined puella, puellae, puellae, puellam, puella in the five cases of the singular.
to recite or display all or some subset of the inflected forms of a noun, pronoun, or adjective in a fixed order.

verb (used without object), de·clined, de·clin·ing.

to express courteous refusal; refuse: We sent him an invitation but he declined.

to bend or slant down; slope downward; descend: The hill declines to the lake.

(of pathways, routes, objects, etc.) to follow a downward course or path: The sun declined in the skies.

to draw toward the close, as the day.

to fail in strength, vigor, character, value, etc.; deteriorate.

to fail or dwindle; sink or fade away: to decline in popularity.

to descend, as to an unworthy level; stoop.

Grammar. to be characterized by declension.

noun

a downward slope; declivity.

a downward movement, as of prices or population; diminution: a decline in the stock market.

a failing or gradual loss, as in strength, character, power, or value; deterioration: the decline of the Roman Empire.

a gradual deterioration of the physical powers, as in later life or in disease: After his seventieth birthday he went into a decline.

progress downward or toward the close, as of the sun or the day.

the later years or last part: He became an editor in the decline of his life.

Origin of decline

1275–1325; (v.) Middle English declinen < Old French: to inflect, turn aside, sink < Latin dēclīnāre to slope, incline, bend; compare Greek klī́nein to lean¹; (noun) Middle English declin < Old French, derivative of decliner

SYNONYMS FOR decline

1 reject. See refuse¹.

9 degenerate, decay, weaken, diminish, languish.

13 hill.

15 retrogression, degeneration, enfeeblement, weakening.

SEE SYNONYMS FOR decline ON THESAURUS.COM

ANTONYMS FOR decline

6 rise.

9 improve.

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OTHER WORDS FROM decline

de·clin·er, noun pre·de·cline, verb (used with object), pre·de·clined, pre·de·clin·ing. re·de·cline, verb, re·de·clined, re·de·clin·ing, noun un·de·clined, adjective

un·de·clin·ing, adjective

Words nearby decline

declinable, declinate, declination, declinatory, declinature, decline, decline and fall of the roman empire, the, declinometer, declive, declivitous, declivity

Example sentences from the Web for decline

Police Superintendent Michael Harrison said the decline was a result of an effort to decrease gang violence.

America’s 2014 Murder Capital |Brandy Zadrozny |January 3, 2015 |DAILY BEAST
The loss of this “expectation” game began his decline and ultimate withdrawal from the race.

The World’s Toughest Political Quiz |Jeff Greenfield |December 31, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
Thanks to CompStat and strategies added by Police Commissioner Ray Kelly, crime continued to decline.

Eric Garner Was Just a Number to Them |Michael Daly |December 5, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
America, Stephens writes, is not necessarily in “decline” but rather “retreat.”

‘America in Retreat’: Why Neo-Isolationism Exploded Under Obama and What We Can Do About It |James Kirchick |December 1, 2014 |DAILY BEAST

This means a decline in habitat quality for grazers like bison and elk, whose winter-killed carcasses grizzlies feed upon.

What It Takes to Kill a Grizzly Bear |Doug Peacock |November 23, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
The invitation was proffered, and Samuel Lynn did not see reason to decline it.

Mrs. Halliburton's Troubles |Mrs. Henry Wood
The audit office should have information at hand sufficient to decline the claim or settle it immediately.

The Modern Railroad |Edward Hungerford
The Roman conquest accelerated the decline in severe taste, when different orders began to be used indiscriminately.

Beacon Lights of History, Volume III |John Lord
The fact is we decline to take anyone else seriously, but we make up for that by taking ourselves with redoubled seriousness.

The Champagne Standard |Mrs. John Lane
I have thought it wiser to close my survey with the decline of the romantic movement.

A History of French Literature |Edward Dowden

British Dictionary definitions for decline

decline

/ (dɪˈklaɪn) /

verb

to refuse to do or accept (something), esp politely

(intr) to grow smaller; diminish demand has declined over the years

to slope or cause to slope downwards

(intr) to deteriorate gradually, as in quality, health, or character

grammar to state or list the inflections of (a noun, adjective, or pronoun), or (of a noun, adjective, or pronoun) to be inflected for number, case, or gender Compare conjugate (def. 1)

noun

gradual deterioration or loss

a movement downwards or towards something smaller; diminution

a downward slope; declivity

archaic any slowly progressive disease, such as tuberculosis

Derived forms of decline

declinable, adjective decliner, noun

Word Origin for decline

C14: from Old French decliner to inflect, turn away, sink, from Latin dēclīnāre to bend away, inflect grammatically

BROWSE DICTIONARY

Learning

decline

verb (used with object), de·clined, de·clin·ing.

verb (used without object), de·clined, de·clin·ing.

noun

Origin of decline

SYNONYMS FOR decline

ANTONYMS FOR decline

OTHER WORDS FROM decline

Words nearby decline

Example sentences from the Web for decline

British Dictionary definitions for decline

verb

noun

Derived forms of decline

Word Origin for decline

BROWSE DICTIONARY

Learning

decline

verb (used with object), de·clined, de·clin·ing.

verb (used without object), de·clined, de·clin·ing.

noun

Origin of decline

SYNONYMS FOR decline

ANTONYMS FOR decline

OTHER WORDS FROM decline

Words nearby decline

Content related to decline

Words related to decline

Example sentences from the Web for decline

(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []) .push({}); British Dictionary definitions for decline

verb

noun

Derived forms of decline

Word Origin for decline

British Dictionary definitions for decline