decline

[ dih-klahyn ]
See synonyms for: declinedeclineddeclining on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object),de·clined, de·clin·ing.
  1. to withhold or deny consent to do, enter into or upon, etc.; refuse: He declined to say more about it.

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

  1. to cause to slope or incline downward.

  2. 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.
  1. to express courteous refusal; refuse: We sent him an invitation but he declined.

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

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

  2. to draw toward the close, as the day.

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

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

  5. to descend, as to an unworthy level; stoop.

  6. Grammar. to be characterized by declension.

noun
  1. a downward slope; declivity.

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

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

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

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

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

Origin of decline

1
First recorded in 1275–1325; (verb) Middle English declinen, from Old French: “to inflect, turn aside, sink,” from Latin dēclīnāre “to slope, incline, bend”; compare Greek klī́nein “to lean” (see lean1); (noun) Middle English declin, from Old French, derivative of decliner

synonym study For decline

1. See refuse1.

Other words for decline

Opposites for decline

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

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use decline in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for decline

decline

/ (dɪˈklaɪn) /


verb
  1. to refuse to do or accept (something), esp politely

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

  1. to slope or cause to slope downwards

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

  3. 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
  1. gradual deterioration or loss

  2. a movement downwards or towards something smaller; diminution

  1. a downward slope; declivity

  2. archaic any slowly progressive disease, such as tuberculosis

Origin of decline

1
C14: from Old French decliner to inflect, turn away, sink, from Latin dēclīnāre to bend away, inflect grammatically

Derived forms of decline

  • declinable, adjective
  • decliner, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012