I. də̇ˈklīn, dēˈ- verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: Middle English declinen, from Middle French decliner to inflect grammatically, turn aside, sink, from Latin declinare to inflect grammatically, turn aside, from de from, away + -clinare to incline — more at de- , lean
intransitive verb
1. : to turn aside : deviate from or as if from a straight course : stray
walked in the ways of David his father and declined neither to the right hand nor to the left — 2 Chron 34:2 (Authorized Version)
2. : to take a downward direction: as
a. : to slope downward : descend
pipes used for the conveyance of gasoline shall decline to tanks — Fire Manual ( Massachusetts )
the path declines to the track
b. : to bend down : droop
eyes … declining toward the ground — Henry Fielding
c. : to stoop or descend to what is unworthy
the direful shameful state Adam declined into — Edward Taylor
3.
a. of a celestial body : to sink toward setting
the sun had begun to decline
b. : to draw toward a close
as the day declined the place became insupportable — Ellen Glasgow
4. : to tend toward an inferior state or weaker condition : become diminished or impaired : fail
the powers of the mind and body begin with added years to decline — C.W.Eliot
5. obsolete : incline , tend
your weeping sister is no wife of mine … far more, far more to you do I decline — Shakespeare
6. : to withhold consent : refuse
when I invited him he declined
transitive verb
1.
a. : to give in some prescribed order the various grammatical forms of : inflect — used formerly of any inflected word, now only of a noun, pronoun, or adjective
decline the Latin adjective bonus
b. obsolete : to recite formally or in some prescribed order
that you no harsh nor shallow rimes decline — Michael Drayton
2. obsolete
a. : to cause to turn aside : avert
evasions are sought to decline the pressure of resistless arguments — Samuel Johnson
b. : to turn aside from : avoid
sinners … despairing to decline their fate — Thomas Ken
3. : to cause to bend, bow, or fall : bring or move down : bend downward
the clover … declines its blooms — W.C.Bryant
4.
a. : to refuse to undertake, engage in, or comply with : reject
sought out the English fleet but it declined battle — L.W.Dean
b. : to refuse courteously or politely : not to accept
declining the unwanted manuscript — August Frugé
5. : to refuse to accept (gambit) or pursue (a line of play) when an opponent in chess offers the opportunity
Synonyms:
decline , refuse , reject , repudiate , and spurn can all mean to turn away something or someone by not consenting to accept, receive, or consider it or him. decline , the most courteous of the terms, is used chiefly in connection with invitations, offers of help, or services
to decline an offer of a chairmanship
to decline a formal invitation
to decline to answer personal questions
refuse is more positive, implying decisiveness, even ungraciousness
to refuse an invitation and insult a friend thereby
to refuse to answer personal questions
to refuse all offers of marriage
reject implies a refusal to have anything to do with a person or thing
to reject an appeal for help
rejecting with scorn all that can be called mysticism — W.R.Inge
rejected by their mothers, shunted from one boarding home to another, these youngsters have lost faith in the kindliness of adults — Alice Lake
repudiate implies a disowning or rejecting with scorn as untrue, unauthorized, unworthy of acceptance, making false claim, and so on
it is not so easy to repudiate one's heritage — A.J.Toynbee
in permitting the husband to repudiate his wife at his own whim — Reuben Levy
Bradburn had repudiated his promise — American Guide Series: Texas
spurn implies even stronger disdain or contempt in rejection than repudiate
a devoted beau whom she had spurned for her lover — Joseph Schiffman
neglected God for years and spurned His commandments — Bruce Marshall
to spurn an offer of help
II. “ sometimes ˈdēˌ- noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English declyn, from Middle French declin, from decliner to sink
1. : the process of declining : a falling off
the reading of books is suffering a decline — J.D.Adams
a. : a change to a weaker condition : a gradual sinking and wasting away of the physical or mental faculties
b. : a change to an inferior or less favorable state
the decline of the aristocracy
the decline of the small nations
c.
(1) : a downward movement or gradual fall (as in price or value)
a late buying movement in these grains eliminated most early declines — Wall Street Journal
: diminution
a decline in population
(2) : a downward course (as of the blood pressure or of a fever) : defervescence
2. : the period during which something is approaching its end or setting
in the decline of life
3. : a downward slope : declivity
constructed on a slight decline away from the kennels to allow the water to drain away — Smallholder Encyclopaedia
4.
a. : any wasting disease
young men who work themselves into a decline and are driven off in a hearse — R.L.Stevenson
especially : pulmonary tuberculosis
b. also decline disease : any progressively deleterious disease or condition of plants — compare quick decline