DECLINE

descent, declivity, fall, decline, declination, declension, downslope

(noun) a downward slope or bend

decay, decline

(noun) a gradual decrease; as of stored charge or current

decline, diminution

(noun) change toward something smaller or lower

decline, declination

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

worsen, decline

(verb) grow worse; “Conditions in the slum worsened”

decline, go down, wane

(verb) grow smaller; “Interest in the project waned”

refuse, decline

(verb) show unwillingness towards; “he declined to join the group on a hike”

decline

(verb) inflect for number, gender, case, etc.; “in many languages, speakers decline nouns, pronouns, and adjectives”

decline, slump, correct

(verb) go down in value; “the stock market corrected”; “prices slumped”

decline

(verb) go down; “The roof declines here”

refuse, reject, pass up, turn down, decline

(verb) refuse to accept; “He refused my offer of hospitality”

Source: WordNet® 3.1

---

Etymology

Noun

decline (countable and uncountable, plural declines)

Downward movement, fall.

A sloping downward, e.g. of a hill or road.

A weakening.

A reduction or diminution of activity.

The act of declining or refusing something.

Antonyms

• incline

Verb

decline (third-person singular simple present declines, present participle declining, simple past and past participle declined)

(intransitive) To move downwards, to fall, to drop.

(intransitive) To become weaker or worse.

(transitive) To bend downward; to bring down; to depress; to cause to bend, or fall.

(transitive) To cause to decrease or diminish.

To turn or bend aside; to deviate; to stray; to withdraw.

(transitive) To refuse, forbear.

(transitive, grammar, usually of substantives, adjectives and pronouns) To inflect for case, number and sometimes gender.

(by extension) To run through from first to last; to repeat like a schoolboy declining a noun.

(American football, Canadian football) To reject a penalty against the opposing team, usually because the result of accepting it would benefit the non-penalized team less than the preceding play.

Anagrams

• Delnice

Source: Wiktionary

---

De*cline", v. i. [imp. & p. p. Declined; p. pr. & vb. n. Declining.] Etym: [OE. declinen to bend down, lower, sink, decline (a noun), F. décliner 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.

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.)

Definition: 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.

De*cline", n. Etym: [F. déclin. 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.)

Definition: 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. 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.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition

---

Do you know this game?

Wordscapes is a popular word game consistently in the top charts of both Google Play Store and Apple App Store. The Android version has more than 10 million installs. This guide will help you get more coins in less than two minutes of playing the game. Continue reading Wordscapes: Get More Coins