Adjacent Words

Decline definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

DECLI'NE, v.i. [L. to lean.]
1. To lean downward; as, the head declines towards the earth.
2. To lean from a right line; to deviate; in a literal sense.
3. To lean or deviate from rectitude, in a moral sense; to leave the path of truth or justice, or the course prescribed.
Yet do I not decline from thy testimonies. Psa
119:157.
4. To fall; to tend or draw towards the close; as, the day declines.
5. To avoid or shun; to refuse; not to comply; not to do; as, he declined to take any part in the concern.
6. To fall; to fail; to sink; to decay; to be impaired; to tend to a less perfect state; as, the vigor of youth declines in age; health declines; virtue declines; religion declines; national credit and prosperity decline, under a corrupt administration.
7. To sink; to diminish; to fall in value; as, the prices of land and goods decline at the close of a war.
DECLI'NE, v.t.
1. To bend downward; to bring down.
In melancholy deep, with head declined.
2. To bend to one side; to move from a fixed point or right line.
3. To shun or avoid; to refuse; not to engage in; to be cautious not to do or interfere; not to accept or comply with; as, he declined the contest; he declined the offer; he declined the business or pursuit.
4. To inflect; to change the termination of a word, for forming the oblique cases; as, Dominus, Domini, Domino, Dominum, Domine.
DECLI'NE, n. Literally, a leaning from; hence, a falling off; a tendency to a worse state; diminution or decay; deterioration; as the decline of life; the decline of strength; the decline of virtue and religion; the decline of revenues; the decline of agriculture, commerce or manufactures; the decline of learning.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: change toward something smaller or lower [syn: decline, diminution]
2: a condition inferior to an earlier condition; a gradual falling off from a better state [syn: decline, declination] [ant: improvement, melioration]
3: a gradual decrease; as of stored charge or current [syn: decay, decline]
4: a downward slope or bend [syn: descent, declivity, fall, decline, declination, declension, downslope] [ant: acclivity, ascent, climb, raise, rise, upgrade] v
1: grow worse; "Conditions in the slum worsened" [syn: worsen, decline] [ant: ameliorate, better, improve, meliorate]
2: refuse to accept; "He refused my offer of hospitality" [syn: refuse, reject, pass up, turn down, decline] [ant: accept, have, take]
3: show unwillingness towards; "he declined to join the group on a hike" [syn: refuse, decline] [ant: accept, consent, go for]
4: grow smaller; "Interest in the project waned" [syn: decline, go down, wane]
5: go down; "The roof declines here"
6: go down in value; "the stock market corrected"; "prices slumped" [syn: decline, slump, correct]
7: inflect for number, gender, case, etc., "in many languages, speakers decline nouns, pronouns, and adjectives"

Merriam Webster's

I. verb (declined; declining) Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French decliner, from Latin declinare to turn aside, inflect, from de- + clinare to incline — more at lean Date: 14th century intransitive verb 1. archaic to turn from a straight course ; stray 2. a. to slope downward ; descend b. to bend down ; droop c. to stoop to what is unworthy 3. a. of a celestial body to sink toward setting b. to draw toward a close ; wane <the day declined> 4. to tend toward an inferior state or weaker condition <his health declined> <morale declined> 5. to withhold consent 6. to become less in amount <prices declined> transitive verb 1. to give in prescribed order the grammatical forms of (a noun, pronoun, or adjective) 2. obsolete a. avert b. avoid 3. to cause to bend or bow downward 4. a. to refuse to undertake, undergo, engage in, or comply with <decline battle> b. to refuse especially courteously <decline an invitation> • declinable adjective • decliner noun Synonyms: decline, refuse, reject, repudiate, spurn mean to turn away by not accepting, receiving, or considering. decline often implies courteous refusal especially of offers or invitations <declined his party's nomination>. refuse suggests more positiveness or ungraciousness and often implies the denial of something asked for <refused to lend them the money>. reject implies a peremptory refusal by sending away or discarding <rejected the manuscript as unpublishable>. repudiate implies a casting off or disowning as untrue, unauthorized, or unworthy of acceptance <teenagers who repudiate the values of their parents>. spurn stresses contempt or disdain in rejection or repudiation <spurned his overtures of friendship>. II. noun Date: 14th century 1. the process of declining: a. a gradual physical or mental sinking and wasting away b. a change to a lower state or level <the decline of the aristocracy> 2. the period during which something is deteriorating or approaching its end <an empire in decline> 3. a downward slope 4. a wasting disease; especially pulmonary tuberculosis Synonyms: see deterioration

Oxford Reference Dictionary

v. & n. --v. 1 intr. deteriorate; lose strength or vigour; decrease. 2 a tr. reply with formal courtesy that one will not accept (an invitation, honour, etc.). b tr. refuse, esp. formally and courteously (declined to be made use of; declined doing anything). c tr. turn away from (a challenge, battle, discussion, etc.). d intr. give or send a refusal. 3 intr. slope downwards. 4 intr. bend down, droop. 5 tr. Gram. state the forms of (a noun, pronoun, or adjective) corresponding to cases, number, and gender. 6 intr. (of a day, life, etc.) draw to a close. 7 intr. decrease in price etc. 8 tr. bend down. --n. 1 gradual loss of vigour or excellence (on the decline). 2 decay, deterioration. 3 setting; the last part of the course (of the sun, of life, etc.). 4 a fall in price. 5 archaic tuberculosis or a similar wasting disease. Phrases and idioms: declining years old age. Derivatives: declinable adj. decliner n. Etymology: ME f. OF decliner f. L declinare (as DE-, clinare bend)

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Decline De*cline", v. i. [imp. & p. p. Declined; p. pr. & vb. n. Declining.] [OE. declinen to bend down, lower, sink, decline (a noun), F. d['e]cliner to decline, refuse, fr. L. declinare to turn aside, inflect (a part of speech), avoid; de- + clinare to incline; akin to E. lean. See Lean, v. i.] 1. To bend, or lean downward; to take a downward direction; to bend over or hang down, as from weakness, weariness, despondency, etc.; to condescend. ``With declining head.'' --Shak. He . . . would decline even to the lowest of his family. --Lady Hutchinson. Disdaining to decline, Slowly he falls, amidst triumphant cries. --Byron. The ground at length became broken and declined rapidly. --Sir W. Scott. 2. To tend or draw towards a close, decay, or extinction; to tend to a less perfect state; to become diminished or impaired; to fail; to sink; to diminish; to lessen; as, the day declines; virtue declines; religion declines; business declines. That empire must decline Whose chief support and sinews are of coin. --Waller. And presume to know . . . Who thrives, and who declines. --Shak. 3. To turn or bend aside; to deviate; to stray; to withdraw; as, a line that declines from straightness; conduct that declines from sound morals. Yet do I not decline from thy testimonies. --Ps. cxix. 157. 4. To turn away; to shun; to refuse; -- the opposite of accept or consent; as, he declined, upon principle.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Decline De*cline", v. t. 1. To bend downward; to bring down; to depress; to cause to bend, or fall. In melancholy deep, with head declined. --Thomson. And now fair Phoebus gan decline in haste His weary wagon to the western vale. --Spenser. 2. To cause to decrease or diminish. [Obs.] ``You have declined his means.'' --Beau. & Fl. He knoweth his error, but will not seek to decline it. --Burton. 3. To put or turn aside; to turn off or away from; to refuse to undertake or comply with; reject; to shun; to avoid; as, to decline an offer; to decline a contest; he declined any participation with them. Could I Decline this dreadful hour? --Massinger. 4. (Gram.) To inflect, or rehearse in order the changes of grammatical form of; as, to decline a noun or an adjective. Note: Now restricted to such words as have case inflections; but formerly it was applied both to declension and conjugation. After the first declining of a noun and a verb. --Ascham. 5. To run through from first to last; to repeat like a schoolboy declining a noun. [R.] --Shak.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Decline De*cline", n. [F. d['e]clin. See Decline, v. i.] 1. A falling off; a tendency to a worse state; diminution or decay; deterioration; also, the period when a thing is tending toward extinction or a less perfect state; as, the decline of life; the decline of strength; the decline of virtue and religion. Their fathers lived in the decline of literature. --Swift. 2. (Med.) That period of a disorder or paroxysm when the symptoms begin to abate in violence; as, the decline of a fever. 3. A gradual sinking and wasting away of the physical faculties; any wasting disease, esp. pulmonary consumption; as, to die of a decline. --Dunglison. Syn: Decline, Decay, Consumption. Usage: Decline marks the first stage in a downward progress; decay indicates the second stage, and denotes a tendency to ultimate destruction; consumption marks a steady decay from an internal exhaustion of strength. The health may experience a decline from various causes at any period of life; it is naturally subject to decay with the advance of old age; consumption may take place at almost any period of life, from disease which wears out the constitution. In popular language decline is often used as synonymous with consumption. By a gradual decline, states and communities lose their strength and vigor; by progressive decay, they are stripped of their honor, stability, and greatness; by a consumption of their resources and vital energy, they are led rapidly on to a completion of their existence.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(declines, declining, declined) Frequency: The word is one of the 1500 most common words in English. 1. If something declines, it becomes less in quantity, importance, or strength. The number of staff has declined from 217,000 to 114,000... Hourly output by workers declined 1.3% in the first quarter... Union membership and union power are declining fast. ...a declining birth rate. VERB: V from/to/by amount, V amount, V, V-ing 2. If you decline something or decline to do something, you politely refuse to accept it or do it. (FORMAL) He declined their invitation... The band declined to comment on the story... He offered the boys some coffee. They declined politely. VERB: V n, V to-inf, V 3. If there is a decline in something, it becomes less in quantity, importance, or quality. There wasn't such a big decline in enrollments after all... The first signs of economic decline became visible. N-VAR: oft N with poss, N in n 4. If something is in decline or on the decline, it is gradually decreasing in importance, quality, or power. Thankfully the smoking of cigarettes is on the decline... PHRASE: v-link PHR 5. If something goes or falls into decline, it begins to gradually decrease in importance, quality, or power. Libraries are an investment for the future and they should not be allowed to fall into decline. PHRASE

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

de-klin' [(@cur], or sur, naTah): In the King James Version this word occurs 9 times in its original sense (now obsolete) of "turn aside." the Revised Version (British and American) substitutes "turn aside" in Ex 23:2; De 17:11; 2Ch 34:2; Job 23:11. In Ps 102:11; 109:23, the lengthening shadows of afternoon are said to "decline," and the Revised Version (British and American) introduces the word in the same general sense in Jud 19:8; 2Ki 20:10; Jer 6:4. See AFTERNOON.

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

I. v. n. 1. Lean downward, incline, slope. 2. Decay, sink, droop, languish, pine, fail, become feeble. 3. Deteriorate, degenerate, be impaired. 4. Decrease, lessen, diminish, wane, fall away. II. v. a. 1. Refuse, reject, avoid. 2. (Gram.) Inflect, vary. III. n. 1. Deterioration, degeneracy, decay, diminution, falling off, declension, declination. 2. Consumption, phthisis, marasmus, atrophy, gradual wasting, progressive emaciation.

Moby Thesaurus

abate, abatement, abjure, ablate, abstain, abstain from, age, analyze, anility, arrear, arrearage, arrears, ascend, asking price, avoid, backslide, backsliding, balk, bank, bate, be eaten away, be found wanting, be unmoved, be unwilling, bearish prices, beat down, beg off, bid price, boggle, book value, bracket, break, brush aside, bullish prices, bypass, cadence, caducity, call price, cant, careen, catabasis, catenary, cave, cave in, cessation, cheapen, cheapening, cheat the undertaker, childishness, chuck, chuck out, climb, close, closing, closing price, collapse, come apart, come down, come short, come unstuck, comedown, conjugate, conk out, consume, consume away, contemn, contradict, corrode, crash, crumble, cut, cut prices, debasement, debility, decadence, decadency, decay, deceleration, declension, declination, decline and fall, decline to accept, declivity, decrease, decrescendo, decurrence, defalcation, default, defectiveness, deficit, deflate, deflation, deformation, degeneracy, degenerate, degenerateness, degeneration, degradation, delinquency, deliquesce, demotion, demur, deny, depravation, depravedness, depreciate, depreciation, depression, derogation, descend, descent, despise, deteriorate, deterioration, devaluate, devaluation, devitalization, devolution, die, die away, diminish, diminuendo, diminution, dip, disagree, disallow, disapprove, discard, disclaim, discount, disdain, disimprove, disintegrate, dismiss, disown, disregard, dissent, dive, dodder, dotage, dotardism, downfall, downgate, downgrade, downhill, downslide, downswing, downtrend, downturn, downward mobility, downward trend, drift away, droop, drop, drop down, drop off, dwindle, dwindling, dying, ebb, ebbing, effeteness, erode, except, exclude, face value, fade, fading, fail, failing, failure, failure of nerve, faint, fall, fall away, fall in price, fall off, fall short, falling off, falling short, falling-off, falloff, fixed price, fizzle out, flag, flash price, flop, flop down, flump, flump down, flurry, flutter, forbear, forgo, forswear, founder, gainsay, get along, get on, give out, give way, go, go away, go down, go downhill, go off, go soft, go to pieces, go to pot, go uphill, grade, grow old, hang, hanging, have a comedown, high, hit a slump, hit rock bottom, hit the skids, hold out against, homestretch, hyphenate, ignore, imperfection, inadequacy, incline, inferiority, inflect, insufficiency, involution, issue par, issue price, jew down, jib, keel, lack, lag, languish, lapse, last lap, last round, last stage, lean, lessen, lessening, let up, list, lose ground, lose strength, loss, loss of tone, low, lower, lowering, mark, mark down, markdown, market price, market value, melt away, move away, move off, negate, negative, nominal value, nose dive, nose-dive, not answer, not buy, not consent, not hack it, not hear of, not make it, not make out, not measure up, not stretch, not suffice, not think of, offering price, opening price, par, par value, pare, parenthesize, parity, parse, pass by, pass up, peak, peg out, peter out, pine, pitch, plop, plop down, plummet, plummeting, plump, plunge, point, poop out, price, price cut, price fall, price reduction, pull away, punctuate, push aside, put price, quotation, quoted price, rake, rally, reach the depths, rebuff, recant, recede, reduce, reduction, refrain, refuse, refuse consent, refuse to consider, regression, reject, relapse, remission, renounce, repel, reprobate, repudiate, repulse, resist entreaty, resist persuasion, retire, retreat, retrocede, retrocession, retrogradation, retrograde, retrogression, return, revert, rise, rot, run down, run low, run short, sag, say nay, say no, scout, scruple, second childhood, senectitude, senile debility, senile dementia, senile psychosis, senile weakness, senilism, senility, set, settle, settle down, settling price, shake, shave, shelve, short measure, shortage, shortcoming, shortfall, shove away, shrink, shrivel, shy, sidle, sink, sink down, sinkage, slant, slash, slide, slip, slippage, slope, slouch, slowdown, slump, slump down, spurn, stand aloof, stand off, stated value, stick, stickle, stop short, submerge, submergence, subside, subsidence, swag, sway, swings, tail off, taper off, throw away, throw out, tilt, tip, totter, touch bottom, trim, turn away, turn down, turn gray, turn out, turn white, underage, uprise, veto, vote nay, vote negatively, waive, wane, waning, want, waste, waste away, weaken, weakening, weakness, wear, wear away, wear thin, widen the distance, wilt, withdraw, wither, wither away, wizen, worsen, worsening, wrinkle, yield