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decline

 - 6 dictionary results

de⋅cline

  [di-klahyn] verb, -clined, -clin⋅ing, noun
Use decline in a Sentence
–verb (used with object)
1. to withhold or deny consent to do, enter into or upon, etc.; refuse: He declined to say more about it.
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.
a. to inflect (a noun, pronoun, or adjective), as Latin puella, declined puella, puellae, puellae, puellam, puella in the five cases of the singular.
b. 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)
5. to express courteous refusal; refuse: We sent him an invitation but he declined.
6. to bend or slant down; slope downward; descend: The hill declines to the lake.
7. (of pathways, routes, objects, etc.) to follow a downward course or path: The sun declined in the skies.
8. to draw toward the close, as the day.
9. to fail in strength, vigor, character, value, etc.; deteriorate.
10. to fail or dwindle; sink or fade away: to decline in popularity.
11. to descend, as to an unworthy level; stoop.
12. Grammar. to be characterized by declension.
–noun
13. a downward slope; declivity.
14. a downward movement, as of prices or population; diminution: a decline in the stock market.
15. a failing or gradual loss, as in strength, character, power, or value; deterioration: the decline of the Roman Empire.
16. a gradual deterioration of the physical powers, as in later life or in disease: After his seventieth birthday he went into a decline.
17. progress downward or toward the close, as of the sun or the day.
18. the later years or last part: He became an editor in the decline of his life.
Origin:
1275–1325; (v.) ME declinen < OF: to inflect, turn aside, sink < L dēclīnāre to slope, incline, bend; cf. Gk klnein to lean 1 ; (n.) ME declin < OF, deriv. of decliner

Related forms:
de⋅clin⋅er, noun

Synonyms:
1. reject. See refuse 1 . 9. degenerate, decay, weaken, diminish, languish. 13. hill. 15. retrogression, degeneration, enfeeblement, weakening.

Antonyms:
6. rise. 9. improve.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To decline
de·cline   (dĭ-klīn')   
v.   de·clined, de·clin·ing, de·clines

v.   intr.

  1. To express polite refusal.

    1. To slope downward; descend.

    2. To bend downward; droop.

    3. To sink, as the setting sun.

    4. To draw to a gradual close; wane.

  3. To degrade or lower oneself; condescend.

  4. To deteriorate gradually; fail.

    1. To sink, as the setting sun.

    2. To draw to a gradual close; wane.

v.   tr.

  1. To refuse politely: I declined their offer of help. See Synonyms at refuse1.

  2. To cause to slope or bend downward.

  3. Grammar To inflect (a noun, a pronoun, or an adjective) for number and case.

n.  

  1. The process or result of declining, especially a gradual deterioration.

  2. A downward movement.

  3. The period when something approaches an end.

  4. A downward slope; a declivity.

  5. A disease that gradually weakens or wastes the body.


[Middle English declinen, from Old French decliner, from Latin dēclīnāre, to turn away, bend downward, change the form of a word : dē-, de- + -clīnāre, to lean, bend; see klei- in Indo-European roots.]
de·clin'a·ble adj., de·clin'er n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

decline 
c.1327, "to turn aside, deviate," from O.Fr. decliner "to bend, turn aside," from L. declinare "to bend from, inflect," from de- "from" + clinare "to bend," from PIE *klei-n-, suffixed form of *klei "to lean" (see lean (v.)). Sense has been altered since 15c. by interpretation of de- as "downward." Meaning "not to consent" is from 1631. Astronomical declination (c.1386) and grammatical declension (1565) are both ult. from L. noun derivative declinatio.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Financial Dictionary

decline

A decrease in the price of a security.

Wall Street Words: An A to Z Guide to Investment Terms by David L. Scott.
Copyright © 2003. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: 1de·cline
Pronunciation: di-'klIn
Function: intransitive verb
Inflected Forms: de·clined;de·clin·ing
: to tend toward an impaired state or a weaker condition

Main Entry: 2decline
Function: noun
1 : the process of declining; especially : a gradual physical or mental sinking and wasting away
2 : the period during which the end of life is approaching
3 : a wasting disease; especially : pulmonary tuberculosis
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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