I. di-ˈklīn, dē- verb
( de·clined ; de·clin·ing )
Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French decliner, from Latin declinare to turn aside, inflect, from de- + clinare to incline — more at lean
Date: 14th century
intransitive verb
1. archaic : to turn from a straight course : stray
2.
a. : to slope downward : descend
b. : to bend down : droop
c. : to stoop to what is unworthy
3.
a. of a celestial body : to sink toward setting
b. : to draw toward a close : wane
the day declined
4. : to tend toward an inferior state or weaker condition
his health declined
morale declined
5. : to withhold consent
6. : to become less in amount
prices declined
transitive verb
1. : to give in prescribed order the grammatical forms of (a noun, pronoun, or adjective)
2. obsolete
a. : avert
b. : avoid
3. : to cause to bend or bow downward
4.
a. : to refuse to undertake, undergo, engage in, or comply with
decline battle
b. : to refuse especially courteously
decline an invitation
• de·clin·able -ˈklī-nə-bəl adjective
• de·clin·er -ˈklī-nər noun
Synonyms:
decline , refuse , reject , repudiate , spurn mean to turn away by not accepting, receiving, or considering. decline often implies courteous refusal especially of offers or invitations
declined his party's nomination
refuse suggests more positiveness or ungraciousness and often implies the denial of something asked for
refused to lend them the money
reject implies a peremptory refusal by sending away or discarding
rejected the manuscript as unpublishable
repudiate implies a casting off or disowning as untrue, unauthorized, or unworthy of acceptance
teenagers who repudiate the values of their parents
spurn stresses contempt or disdain in rejection or repudiation
spurned his overtures of friendship
II. also ˈdē-ˌklīn noun
Date: 14th century
1. : the process of declining:
a. : a gradual physical or mental sinking and wasting away
b. : a change to a lower state or level
the decline of the aristocracy
2. : the period during which something is deteriorating or approaching its end
an empire in decline
3. : a downward slope
4. : a wasting disease ; especially : pulmonary tuberculosis
Synonyms: see deterioration