decline

American  

[dih-klahyn] / dɪˈklaɪn /

verb (used with object)

• declines,
  present (3rd person singular)
• declined,
  past participle,  past
• declining
  present participle

1. 

   to withhold or deny consent to do, enter into or upon, etc.; refuse.

   He declined to say more about it.

   Synonyms:

   reject

2. to express inability or reluctance to accept; refuse with courtesy.

   to decline an invitation; to decline an offer.

3. to cause to slope or incline downward.

4. Grammar.

   1. to inflect (a noun, pronoun, or adjective), as Latin puella, declined puella, puellae, puellae, puellam, puella in the five cases of the singular.

   2. to recite or display all or some subset of the inflected forms of a noun, pronoun, or adjective in a fixed order.

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verb (used without object)

• declines,
  present (3rd person singular)
• declined,
  past participle,  past
• declining
  present participle

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.

   Antonyms:

   rise

3. (of pathways, routes, objects, etc.) to follow a downward course or path.

   The sun declined in the skies.

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

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

   Synonyms:

   languish, diminish, weaken, decay, degenerate

   Antonyms:

   improve

6. to fail or dwindle; sink or fade away.

   to decline in popularity.

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

8. Grammar. to be characterized by declension.

noun

• declines
  plural

1. a downward slope; declivity.

   Synonyms:

   hill

2. a downward movement, as of prices or population; diminution.

   a decline in the stock market.

3. a failing or gradual loss, as in strength, character, power, or value; deterioration.

   the decline of the Roman Empire.

   Synonyms:

   enfeeblement, degeneration, retrogression

4. a gradual deterioration of the physical powers, as in later life or in disease.

   After his seventieth birthday he went into a decline.

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

6. the later years or last part.

   He became an editor in the decline of his life.

decline British  

/ dɪˈklaɪn /

verb

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

2. (intr) to grow smaller; diminish

   demand has declined over the years

3. to slope or cause to slope downwards

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

5. 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

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noun

1. gradual deterioration or loss

2. a movement downwards or towards something smaller; diminution

3. a downward slope; declivity

4. archaic any slowly progressive disease, such as tuberculosis

Synonym Usage

See refuse ¹.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• decliner
  noun
• redecline
  verb
• predecline
  verb (used with object)
• declinable
  adjective
• undeclined
  adjective
• undeclining
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• declines
  plural

Participles

• declining
  present
• declined
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• decline
  simple
• declines
  simple
• have declined
  perfect
• has declined
  perfect
• am declining
  progressive
• are declining
  progressive
• is declining
  progressive
• have been declining
  perfect progressive
• has been declining
  perfect progressive

Past

• declined
  simple
• had declined
  perfect
• was declining
  progressive
• were declining
  progressive
• had been declining
  perfect progressive

Future

• will decline
  simple
• will have declined
  perfect
• will be declining
  progressive
• will have been declining
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of decline

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 lean ¹); (noun) Middle English declin, from Old French, derivative of decliner

Explanation

When something declines, it goes downhill. If you stop working out, your health may decline. If you want it to improve, you should start climbing inclines instead of coasting down declines. The verb decline means refuse to accept, but the noun decline means a downward slope (the opposite of an incline), or a decrease in quality. At the gym, the treadmill has an incline button to control how steep your climb is. Sadly, there's no button for decline, which would be much easier. Both words contain cline, or "to bend." The prefix tells you which way the bend goes. Decline implies a going, or turning, down.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

decline declines declined declining

"And because we have the results of cognitive tests these volunteers took over time, we can see that the people with the highest ImP levels also experienced much faster cognitive decline," Rey says.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 3, 2026

A molecule made by bacteria in the digestive system may increase the risk of Alzheimer's disease and accelerate cognitive decline in people with dementia, according to new research.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 3, 2026

Nike’s decline leaves few technical arguments for an imminent rebound.

From Barron's ● Oct. 2, 2026

The decline in government came largely from states and localities, which won’t hurt the economy.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026

Commentators always have a familiar cast of characters to which they can point to explain any rally or any decline.

From "Innumeracy: Mathematical Illiteracy and Its Consequences" by John Allen Paulos

Between 2000 and 2023, the WHO Americas region recorded the largest increases in risk of mortality and healthy life loss, while the Western Pacific saw substantial declines.

From Barron's ● Oct. 2, 2026

Tech, auto and pharmaceutical stocks are leading declines.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026

As muscle strength declines, the risk of falls and fractures increases, particularly in later life.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 2, 2026

Greater cheese intake was associated with slower declines in grey matter and hippocampal volume, less ventricular enlargement, and fewer white matter hyperintensities.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 1, 2026

The results of repeated spraying are clearly seen in other streams of the watershed, where alarming declines in the salmon populations are occurring.

From "Silent Spring" by Rachel Carson

Though Treasury yields declined in early Friday trading, they soon rebounded and ended the day higher.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026

During a Thursday appearance at the Bloomberg News Screentime media conference in Hollywood, Bloys declined to discuss his presumed new role.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 2, 2026

Horcasitas' lawyer, Kristen Reller, who filed the appeal, declined to comment.

From BBC ● Oct. 2, 2026

So with this year’s tremendous increase in long-term interest rates as the bond market has sold off, you might be wondering why the stock market hasn’t declined.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 2, 2026

But during that time Egypt declined as a world power.

From "The (Mostly) True Story of Cleopatra's Needle" by Dan Gutman

Shares in the sports retailer are down 8.9% in premarket trading after the company said declining sales will continue.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026

And the Civilian Oversight Commission filed suit against the department in June for declining to provide certain records related to three cases of use of force the commission issued subpoenas for in February 2025.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026

“I still see it declining and you’re coming into the slow part with the holidays,” Wessel said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 1, 2026

"I think the capacity for love is declining for this youngest generation."

From BBC ● Sep. 30, 2026

I saw in this the reason for my being staved off so long and the reason for my late guardian’s declining to commit himself to the formal knowledge of such a scheme.

From "Great Expectations" by Charles Dickens

Related Words

• decrease
• depreciate
• deteriorate
• diminish
• drop
• dwindle
• fail
• fall
• lower
• recede
• return
• sag
• shrink
• sink
• slide
• wane
• weaken
• worsen