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

Cassidy noted that immunity can decline during pregnancy, making community vaccination particularly important for protecting pregnant women.

From Salon ● Aug. 16, 2026

At the same time, research increasingly suggests that many risk factors for cognitive decline and dementia can be modified.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 16, 2026

It subsequently went into gradual decline under the ownership of the American group General Motors, which long restricted its international expansion to avoid competition with other GM subsidiaries.

From Barron's ● Aug. 16, 2026

The center reported that she was no longer able to keep food down and experienced a significant decline in her packed cell volume, which measures the percentage of red blood cells in the bloodstream.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2026

The art of the Old Stone Age in Europe as we know it today marks the highest achievements of a way of life that began to decline soon after.

From "History of Art, Volume 1" by H.W. Janson

But he says its important people know this conservation work is happening, with declines in some sea bird populations.

From BBC ● Aug. 15, 2026

Women who used the therapy were also less likely to show memory problems or declines in their ability to carry out everyday functions.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 14, 2026

Lower energy prices played a big role in these declines, but prices were also more muted for other wholesale goods.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 13, 2026

They expect Samsung’s shares, which recently fell 49% from their recent peak, to regain ground, noting that historically, declines of more than 40% have marked the start of a mid- to long-term rebound.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 12, 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

Several large franchise groups declared bankruptcy as their profits declined and hundreds of locations closed.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 17, 2026

He also noted on Truth Social that South Korea had recently declined to join the US in the "denuclearisation" of Iran.

From BBC ● Aug. 16, 2026

Cassidy declined to revisit his vote, instead arguing that Trump’s policy will “decrease immunization rates” while being “less convenient and costing families more.”

From Salon ● Aug. 16, 2026

Suicide death rates across the UK have generally declined since the early 1990s.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 15, 2026

The juvenile population in America increased from 1994 to 2000, but the juvenile crime rate declined, leading academics who had originally supported the “super-predator” theory to disclaim it.

From "Just Mercy" by Bryan Stevenson

And declining the bonus is not necessarily so simple.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 14, 2026

They noted that a nearby oil rig, Platform Grace, has already ceased operating due to declining production and is now being decommissioned.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2026

But sales have been declining, from nearly 41,000 in 2023 to just 16,000 last year, and only 6,000 in the first half of 2026.

From Barron's ● Aug. 13, 2026

The chain had been struggling for years with declining traffic and an aging clientele, and Masino gave herself three years to implement a turnaround strategy.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 12, 2026

Wal-Mart is booming; unions are declining: judge for yourself.

From "Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America" by Barbara Ehrenreich

Related Words

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