10 results for: decline Browse Nearby Entries
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This
de·cline    Audio Help   [di-klahyn] Pronunciation Key verb, -clined, -clin·ing, noun
–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 déclīnāre to slope, incline, bend; cf. Gk klnein to lean1; (n.) ME declin < OF, deriv. of decliner]

de·clin·er, noun

1. reject. See refuse1. 9. degenerate, decay, weaken, diminish, languish. 13. hill. 15. retrogression, degeneration, enfeeblement, weakening.
6. rise. 9. improve.
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
decline

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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
de·cline    Audio Help   (dĭ-klīn')  Pronunciation Key 
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.
  2. To degrade or lower oneself; condescend.
  3. 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.
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Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
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
WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This
decline

noun
1. change toward something smaller or lower 
2. a condition inferior to an earlier condition; a gradual falling off from a better state [ant: improvement
3. a gradual decrease; as of stored charge or current [syn: decay
4. a downward slope or bend [syn: descent] [ant: acclivity

verb
1. grow worse; "Conditions in the slum worsened" [syn: worsen] [ant: ameliorate
2. refuse to accept; "He refused my offer of hospitality" [syn: refuse] [ant: accept
3. show unwillingness towards; "he declined to join the group on a hike" [syn: refuse] [ant: accept
4. grow smaller; "Interest in the project waned" 
5. go down; "The roof declines here" 
6. go down in value; "the stock market corrected"; "prices slumped" 
7. inflect for number, gender, case, etc., "in many languages, speakers decline nouns, pronouns, and adjectives" 

WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University.
Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
decline1 [diˈklain] verb
to say `no' to (an invitation etc); to refuse
Example: We declined his offer of a lift.
Arabic: يَرْفُض
Chinese (Simplified): 谢绝,拒绝
Chinese (Traditional): 謝絕,拒絕
Czech: odmítnout
Danish: afslå
Dutch: afwijzen
Estonian: ära ütlema
Finnish: kieltäytyä
French: refuser
German: ablehnen
Greek: αρνούμαι
Hungarian: visszautasít
Icelandic: hafna
Indonesian: menolak
Italian: declinare
Japanese: 断わる
Korean: 거절하다
Latvian: atteikties; noraidīt
Lithuanian: atsisakyti
Norwegian: avslå, si nei til
Polish: odmawiać
Portuguese (Brazil): recusar
Portuguese (Portugal): recusar
Romanian: a refuza
Russian: отказываться
Slovak: odmietnuť
Slovenian: odkloniti
Spanish: rehusar, rechazar
Swedish: avböja, tacka nej
Turkish: reddetmek, geri çevirmek
decline2 [diˈklain] verb
to become less strong or less good etc
Example: His health has declined recently; Our profits have temporarily declined.
Arabic: يَضْعُف، يَخورُ
Chinese (Simplified): 衰落,下降,倾斜
Chinese (Traditional): 衰落,下降,傾斜
Czech: klesat, upadat
Danish: svække; forringe; gå ned
Dutch: achteruitgaan
Estonian: allamäge minema
Finnish: heikentyä
French: baisser
German: sich verschlechtern
Greek: φθίνω, εξασθενίζω
Hungarian: gyengül
Icelandic: fara aftur, hnigna
Indonesian: merosot
Italian: declinare; diminuire
Japanese: 衰える
Korean: 쇠하다, 감소하다
Latvian: pasliktināties; mazināties
Lithuanian: blogėti, silpnėti, mažėti
Norwegian: gå ned, avta, synke
Polish: pogorszyć się
Portuguese (Brazil): declinar
Portuguese (Portugal): diminuir
Romanian: a fi în declin
Russian: идти на убыль
Slovak: upadať, klesať
Slovenian: poslabšati se, zmanjšati se
Spanish: disminuir
Swedish: avta, minska, sjunka
Turkish: düşmek, azalmak
decline [diˈklain] noun
a gradual lessening or worsening (of health, standards, quantity etc)
Example: There has been a gradual decline in the birthrate.
Arabic: تَضاؤُل، إنْحِطاط، ضَعْف، إنْخِفاض
Chinese (Simplified): 下降,变坏
Chinese (Traditional): 下降,變壞
Czech: pokles, úpadek
Danish: svækkelse; forringelse; nedgang
Dutch: achteruitgang
Estonian: tagasiminek
Finnish: aleneminen, heikkeneminen
French: baisse
German: der Rückgang
Greek: πτώση, παρακμή, φθορά
Hungarian: hanyatlás
Icelandic: fall
Indonesian: penurunan
Italian: declino; diminuzione
Japanese: 減退
Korean: 감소, 하락, 감퇴
Latvian: pasliktināšanās; pazemināšanās; panīkums
Lithuanian: (su)mažėjimas, silpnėjimas, kritimas
Norwegian: nedgang, tilbakegang, fall
Polish: spadek
Portuguese (Brazil): declínio
Portuguese (Portugal): declínio
Romanian: scădere, declin
Russian: ухудшение; снижение
Slovak: pokles
Slovenian: padec
Spanish: decaimiento, deterioro, descenso
Swedish: avtagande, minskning, nedgång
Turkish: düşüş, gerileme
Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary, © 2000-2006 K Dictionaries Ltd.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Decline

Con*sump"tion\ (?; 215), n. [L. consumptio: cf. F. consomption.]

1. The act or process of consuming by use, waste, etc.; decay; destruction.

Every new advance of the price to the consumer is a new incentive to him to retrench the quality of his consumption. --Burke.

2. The state or process of being consumed, wasted, or diminished; waste; diminution; loss; decay.

3. (Med.) A progressive wasting away of the body; esp., that form of wasting, attendant upon pulmonary phthisis and associated with cough, spitting of blood, hectic fever, etc.; pulmonary phthisis; -- called also pulmonary consumption.

Consumption of the bowels (Med.), inflammation and ulceration of the intestines from tubercular disease.

Syn: Decline; waste; decay. See Decline.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Decline

De*cay"\, n. 1. Gradual failure of health, strength, soundness, prosperity, or of any species of excellence or perfection; tendency toward dissolution or extinction; corruption; rottenness; decline; deterioration; as, the decay of the body; the decay of virtue; the decay of the Roman empire; a castle in decay.

Perhaps my God, though he be far before, May turn, and take me by the hand, and more - May strengthen my decays. --Herbert.

His [Johnson's] failure was not to be ascribed to intellectual decay. --Macaulay.

Which has caused the decay of the consonants to follow somewhat different laws. --James Byrne.

2. Destruction; death. [Obs.] --Spenser.

3. Cause of decay. [R.]

He that plots to be the only figure among ciphers, is the decay of the whole age. --Bacon.

Syn: Decline; consumption. See Decline.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Decline

De*clen"sion\, n. [Apparently corrupted fr. F. d['e]clinaison, fr. L. declinatio, fr. declinare. See Decline, and cf. Declination.]

1. The act or the state of declining; declination; descent; slope.

The declension of the land from that place to the sea. --T. Burnet.

2. A falling off towards a worse state; a downward tendency; deterioration; decay; as, the declension of virtue, of science, of a state, etc.

Seduced the pitch and height of all his thoughts To base declension. --Shak.

3. Act of courteously refusing; act of declining; a declinature; refusal; as, the declension of a nomination.

4. (Gram.) (a) Inflection of nouns, adjectives, etc., according to the grammatical cases. (b) The form of the inflection of a word declined by cases; as, the first or the second declension of nouns, adjectives, etc. (c) Rehearsing a word as declined.

Note: The nominative was held to be the primary and original form, and was likened to a perpendicular line; the variations, or oblique cases, were regarded as fallings (hence called casus, cases, or fallings) from the nominative or perpendicular; and an enumerating of the various forms, being a sort of progressive descent from the noun's upright form, was called a declension. --Harris.

Declension of the needle, declination of the needle.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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