Library / English Dictionary

DECLINE

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 I. (noun) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

A downward slope or bend

Synonyms:

declension; declination; decline; declivity; descent; downslope; fall

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural objects (not man-made)

Hypernyms ("decline" is a kind of...):

incline; side; slope (an elevated geological formation)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "decline"):

downhill (the downward slope of a hill)

steep (a steep place (as on a hill))

Derivation:

decline (go down)

Sense 2

Meaning:

A gradual decrease; as of stored charge or current

Synonyms:

decay; decline

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural processes

Hypernyms ("decline" is a kind of...):

decrease; decrement (a process of becoming smaller or shorter)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "decline"):

exponential decay; exponential return (a decrease that follows an exponential function)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Change toward something smaller or lower

Synonyms:

decline; diminution

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural processes

Hypernyms ("decline" is a kind of...):

decrease; decrement (a process of becoming smaller or shorter)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "decline"):

slippage (decline from a standard level of performance or achievement)

sinking spell (a temporary decline in health or value)

nosedive (a sudden sharp drop or rapid decline)

loss (gradual decline in amount or activity)

erosion (a gradual decline of something)

ebb; ebbing; wane (a gradual decline (in size or strength or power or number))

detumescence (diminution of swelling; the subsidence of anything swollen)

declension; decline in quality; deterioration; worsening (process of changing to an inferior state)

Derivation:

decline (grow smaller)

Sense 4

Meaning:

A condition inferior to an earlier condition; a gradual falling off from a better state

Synonyms:

declination; decline

Classified under:

Nouns denoting stable states of affairs

Hypernyms ("decline" is a kind of...):

condition; status (a state at a particular time)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "decline"):

disuse; neglect (the state of something that has been unused and neglected)

twilight (a condition of decline following successes)

wreck (something or someone that has suffered ruin or dilapidation)

Antonym:

improvement (a condition superior to an earlier condition)

Derivation:

decline (grow worse)

 II. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Grow worse

Example:

Conditions in the slum worsened

Synonyms:

decline; worsen

Classified under:

Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.

Hypernyms (to "decline" is one way to...):

change state; turn (undergo a transformation or a change of position or action)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "decline"):

turn down (take a downward direction)

regress; retrograde; retrogress (get worse or fall back to a previous condition)

lose; suffer (be set at a disadvantage)

suffer; drop away; drop off; fall away; slip (get worse)

tumble (suffer a sudden downfall, overthrow, or defeat)

fail (get worse)

deprive; impoverish (take away)

degenerate; deteriorate; devolve; drop (grow worse)

come down; sicken (get sick)

inflame (become inflamed; get sore)

Sentence frames:

Something ----s
Somebody ----s

Sentence examples:

The stock market is going to decline

The business is going to decline

Derivation:

declension (process of changing to an inferior state)

declination; decline (a condition inferior to an earlier condition; a gradual falling off from a better state)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Grow smaller

Example:

Interest in the project waned

Synonyms:

decline; go down; wane

Classified under:

Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.

Hypernyms (to "decline" is one way to...):

decrease; diminish; fall; lessen (decrease in size, extent, or range)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "decline"):

drop (go down in value)

wear on (pass slowly (of time))

dip (go down momentarily)

Sentence frame:

Something ----s

Derivation:

decline (change toward something smaller or lower)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Show unwillingness towards

Example:

he declined to join the group on a hike

Synonyms:

decline; refuse

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Hypernyms (to "decline" is one way to...):

react; respond (show a response or a reaction to something)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "decline"):

disdain; freeze off; pooh-pooh; reject; scorn; spurn; turn down (reject with contempt)

contract out (refuse to pay a levy to a union for political use)

regret (decline formally or politely)

repudiate (refuse to recognize or pay)

disobey (refuse to go along with; refuse to follow; be disobedient)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody
Somebody ----s to INFINITIVE

Sentence example:

They decline to move

Sense 4

Meaning:

Inflect for number, gender, case, etc.

Example:

in many languages, speakers decline nouns, pronouns, and adjectives

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Hypernyms (to "decline" is one way to...):

inflect (change the form of a word in accordance as required by the grammatical rules of the language)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Derivation:

declension (a class of nouns or pronouns or adjectives in Indo-European languages having the same (or very similar) inflectional forms)

declension (the inflection of nouns and pronouns and adjectives in Indo-European languages)

Sense 5

Meaning:

Go down in value

Example:

prices slumped

Synonyms:

correct; decline; slump

Classified under:

Verbs of walking, flying, swimming

Hypernyms (to "decline" is one way to...):

come down; descend; fall; go down (move downward and lower, but not necessarily all the way)

Sentence frame:

Something ----s

Sense 6

Meaning:

Go down

Example:

The roof declines here

Classified under:

Verbs of walking, flying, swimming

Hypernyms (to "decline" is one way to...):

drop (to fall vertically)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "decline"):

dip; sink (appear to move downward)

Sentence frames:

Something ----s
Something is ----ing PP

Derivation:

declension; declination; decline (a downward slope or bend)

Sense 7

Meaning:

Refuse to accept

Example:

He refused my offer of hospitality

Synonyms:

decline; pass up; refuse; reject; turn down

Classified under:

Verbs of buying, selling, owning

Verb group:

disdain; freeze off; pooh-pooh; reject; scorn; spurn; turn down (reject with contempt)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "decline"):

dishonor; dishonour (refuse to accept)

bounce (refuse to accept and send back)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s something from somebody

Sentence example:

They decline the money

Derivation:

declination (a polite refusal of an invitation)

Credits

 Context examples: 

Significant brain damage from Alzheimer's disease can occur years before any symptoms such as memory loss and cognitive decline appear.

(Predicting Alzheimer's Disease May Be Possible Using Eye Exam, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

The findings may have important conservation implications for declining populations of golden-winged warblers.

(New insights into genetic basis of bird migration, National Science Foundation)

The proportion of children with clinically low lung function at 15 years of age also declined as air quality improved.

(Cleaner Air Tied to Healthier Lungs in Kids, NIH)

But in the simulations, the birds were often able to recover from large storms within 20 years, even when populations continued to decline from other threats, such as regular flooding.

(Coastal birds can weather the storm, but not the sea, National Science Foundation)

Mrs. Strong had declined to play, on the ground of not feeling very well; and her cousin Maldon had excused himself because he had some packing to do.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

The decline of his fortunes, then?

(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Always he declined company on these expeditions, and the people marvelled.

(Love of Life and Other Stories, by Jack London)

Thus as my predecessor weakened his practice declined, until when I purchased it from him it had sunk from twelve hundred to little more than three hundred a year.

(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Mills and team point out that the areas with co-existing winter brown and winter white animals would be places with special potential for evolutionary rescue, where genetically driven adaptive traits reverse population decline.

(Twenty-one species adapted to disappear in the snow. Then, the snow disappeared, National Science Foundation)

A small study from 2016 in people with mild to moderate dementia found an association between gum disease and higher rates of cognitive decline.

(New Link Found between Alzheimer's & Gum Disease Bacteria, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)