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

The analysis found that engaging in any physical activity, rather than living a sedentary lifestyle, was particularly associated with slower cognitive decline among Mexican Americans.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 16, 2026

The AAA driving association said gasoline prices are rising again after a recent decline and averaged $4.08 a gallon in the U.S.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026

GDP per capita is in decline, due to more than six million Afghans arriving from neighbouring Iran and Pakistan in three years, while the World Bank estimated real growth reaching 4.8 percent.

From Barron's ● Aug. 14, 2026

Although elected President of the College of Physicians in 1654, he had to decline the honour on the grounds of age and ill health.

From "The Scientists" by John Gribbin

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

From BBC ● Aug. 15, 2026

The county’s main economic engine is a university where enrollment has declined over the past two years and demographic trends portend further declines.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 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

“Point taken,” goes the Skeeze, “but on the other hand, he declines your invite to hang out at the Candy Kitchen and goes deaf upon mention of the upcoming dance. Ergo, henceforth, and in conclusion...’

From "The Misfits" by James Howe

Downing Street has declined to comment on the security breach, first reported by Politico.

From BBC ● Aug. 17, 2026

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

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 17, 2026

Ultra-Orthodox Jews approached at the protest declined to speak to journalists, saying that doing so would violate Shabbat.

From Barron's ● Aug. 17, 2026

Teirab and the U.S. attorney’s office in Minnesota declined to comment.

From Salon ● Aug. 15, 2026

It was all declined, and over a mere rules dispute.

From "Endgame" by Frank Brady

McDonald’s, which has reported sluggish sales growth in recent months and declining traffic, earlier this month appointed a new president of its U.S. operations, Skye Anderson.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 17, 2026

We’re all sitting at home sipping adaptogenic mushroom tonics, journaling our feelings and politely declining invitations to any event after 7 p.m. because we’d rather optimize our sleep scores than take a tequila shot.

From Salon ● Aug. 15, 2026

But there’s a silver lining to declining or flat home values: His property taxes have gone down by $1,000 per year.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 15, 2026

The company, G3 Enterprises, said the challenges faced by the broader wine industry — declining consumer demand, inflation, rising expenses and increased competition — prompted the cuts.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2026

Back to Deep Water, where life would become again an empty trailer, an old man’s declining will to go on, a crazy fool believing in the mysteries of a beat-up vinyl suitcase, and me.

From "Missing May" by Cynthia Rylant

Related Words

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