declivity

[ dih-kliv-i-tee ]

See synonyms for declivity on Thesaurus.com

noun,plural de·cliv·i·ties.

a downward slope, as of ground (opposed to acclivity).

Origin of declivity

First recorded in 1605–15; from Latin dēclīvitās “a slope, hill,” equivalent to dēclīvi(s) “sloping downward” (dē- prefix indicating downward motion + clīv(us) “slope, hill” + -is adjective suffix) + -tās noun suffix; see de-, -ty²

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use declivity in a sentence

On the declivities of the hills, we beheld a number of graves, which were marked by single, upright stones.
A Woman's Journey Round the World | Ida Pfeiffer
The slope was gentle on each side, without any abrupt declivities, and there was hardly any variation in its width.
Two Boys in Wyoming | Edward S. Ellis
On their southern declivities are found vast masses of sand drifted thither by the mid-day gales.
Travels in Peru, on the Coast, in the Sierra, Across the Cordilleras and the Andes, into the Primeval Forests | J. J. von Tschudi
A real forest it is—six hundred acres in extent, and varied by steep declivities, wild dells, and tangled dingles.
Harper's New Monthly Magazine, No. VII, December 1850, Vol. II | Various
What endless undulations in the various declivities and ascents,—here a slant, there a zigzag!
The Caxtons, Complete | Edward Bulwer-Lytton

British Dictionary definitions for declivity

declivity

/ (dɪˈklɪvɪtɪ) /

nounplural -ties

a downward slope, esp of the ground: Compare acclivity

Origin of declivity

C17: from Latin dēclīvitās, from de- + clīvus a slope, hill

Derived forms of declivity

declivitous, adjective

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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