v. 1 refuse, turn down, deny, reject, demur, forgo, veto, avoid, abstain from She declined help with the packages Roger was offered a professorship at the university but he declined. 2 diminish, lessen, decrease, wane, flag, go down, fall or taper off, subside, ebb, abate, dwindle, shrink, fade, Colloq peter out, run out of steam, US run out of gas Demand for hula hoops declined 3 slope or slant (downwards), descend, drop or fall off, dip, sink The meadow declines towards the river 4 deteriorate, degenerate, worsen, fail My health has declined over the last year 5 go or drop down, settle, dip, sink, set The sun was declining as I went home
n. 6 diminution, decrease, lessening, ebb, downturn, fall-off, reduction, abatement, slump, descent There has been a steady decline in the value of the pound 7 degeneration, deterioration, loss, diminution, weakening, debility, weakness, worsening, decay, failing We noted a decline in the physical condition of those living nearby 8 declivity, (downward) slope or slant, descent, downgrade, incline The path led down a steep decline towards the pond