decline

[ dih-klahyn ]

/ dɪˈklaɪn /

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See synonyms for: decline / declined / declining 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.

OTHER WORDS FOR decline

1 reject.

9 degenerate, decay, weaken, diminish, languish.

13 hill.

15 retrogression, degeneration, enfeeblement, weakening.

See synonyms for decline on Thesaurus.com

OPPOSITES FOR decline

6 rise.

9 improve.

See antonyms for decline on Thesaurus.com

QUIZ

THINGAMABOB OR THINGUMMY: CAN YOU DISTINGUISH BETWEEN THE US AND UK TERMS IN THIS QUIZ?

Do you know the difference between everyday US and UK terminology? Test yourself with this quiz on words that differ across the Atlantic.

Question 1 of 7

In the UK, COTTON CANDY is more commonly known as…

candystring

candyfloss

candypuff

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

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 lean¹); (noun) Middle English declin, from Old French, derivative of decliner

synonym study for decline

1. See refuse¹.

OTHER WORDS FROM decline

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

un·de·clin·ing, adjective

Words nearby decline

declinable, declinate, declination, declinatory, declinature, decline, declinometer, declive, declivitous, declivity, declivous

How to use decline in a sentence

You can also start at the top and lower your machine backwards over small cut-banks and other declines.
Six ways to make your ATV even more rugged|By Tyler Freel/Outdoor Life|September 17, 2020|Popular-Science
Pitching speed — which directly correlates to opposing batters’ offensive performance — typically begins to slow in a pitcher’s late 20s, and the decline accelerates in his 30s.
Jacob DeGrom Just Keeps Throwing Faster|Travis Sawchik|September 17, 2020|FiveThirtyEight
Bulatao also said Linick’s office had experienced a “double-digit decline since 2016” in employee satisfaction metrics.
State Department offers murky analysis of job performance survey to justify inspector general’s firing|Karoun Demirjian, Carol Morello|September 17, 2020|Washington Post
After 2018, Delaware Republicans were locked out of power in the state, a punctuation mark on a long decline.
The Trailer: The First State goes last|David Weigel|September 15, 2020|Washington Post

Across the United States, some 162 million people — nearly 1 in 2 — will most likely experience a decline in the quality of their environment, namely more heat and less water.
Climate Change Will Force a New American Migration|by Abrahm Lustgarten, photography by Meridith Kohut|September 15, 2020|ProPublica
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
When A Christmas Carol was published just in time for the Christmas of 1843, the holiday had been in a long decline in England.
How Dickens and Scrooge Saved Christmas|Clive Irving|December 22, 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
I am ready Madam,—for I have sufficiently experienced the folly of my presuming to decline it.
The Pastor's Fire-side Vol. 3 of 4|Jane Porter
And I, for one, absolutely decline to believe in this preposterous story of his about a bull-dog.
Punch, or the London Charivari, Volume 107, November 3, 1894|Various
He continued active till his 35th year, when he began to decline, and died of water in the chest.
The Every Day Book of History and Chronology|Joel Munsell
They are made in kindness, and show interest, but if you decline seeing such callers, there is no offence given.
The Ladies' Book of Etiquette, and Manual of Politeness|Florence Hartley
If your state of health deprives you of appetite, it is bad enough for you to decline the invitation to dine out.
The Ladies' Book of Etiquette, and Manual of Politeness|Florence Hartley

British Dictionary definitions for decline

decline

/ (dɪˈklaɪn) /

verb

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

(intr) to grow smaller; diminishdemand 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 genderCompare 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, adjectivedecliner, noun

Word Origin for decline

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

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

decline

OTHER WORDS FOR decline

OPPOSITES FOR decline

Origin of decline

synonym study for decline

OTHER WORDS FROM decline

Words nearby decline

Words related to decline

How to use decline in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for decline

Derived forms of decline

Word Origin for decline