decline

decline
decliner, n.
/di kluyn"/, v., declined, declining, n.
v.t.
1. to withhold or deny consent to do, enter into or upon, etc.; refuse: He declined to say more about it.
2. to express inability or reluctance to accept; refuse with courtesy: to decline an invitation; to decline an offer.
3. to cause to slope or incline downward.
4. Gram.
a. to inflect (a noun, pronoun, or adjective), as Latin puella, declined puella, puellae, puellae, puellam, puella in the five cases of the singular.
b. to recite or display all or some subset of the inflected forms of a noun, pronoun, or adjective in a fixed order.
v.i.
5. to express courteous refusal; refuse: We sent him an invitation but he declined.
6. to bend or slant down; slope downward; descend: The hill declines to the lake.
7. (of pathways, routes, objects, etc.) to follow a downward course or path: The sun declined in the skies.
8. to draw toward the close, as the day.
9. to fail in strength, vigor, character, value, etc.; deteriorate.
10. to fail or dwindle; sink or fade away: to decline in popularity.
11. to descend, as to an unworthy level; stoop.
12. Gram. to be characterized by declension.
n.
13. a downward slope; declivity.
14. a downward movement, as of prices or population; diminution: a decline in the stock market.
15. a failing or gradual loss, as in strength, character, power, or value; deterioration: the decline of the Roman Empire.
16. a gradual deterioration of the physical powers, as in later life or in disease: After his seventieth birthday he went into a decline.
17. progress downward or toward the close, as of the sun or the day.
18. the later years or last part: He became an editor in the decline of his life.
[1275-1325; (v.) ME declinen < OF: to inflect, turn aside, sink < L declinare to slope, incline, bend; cf. Gk klínein to LEAN1; (n.) ME declin < OF, deriv. of decliner]
Syn. 1. reject. See refuse1. 9. degenerate, decay, weaken, diminish, languish. 13. hill. 15. retrogression, degeneration, enfeeblement, weakening.
Ant. 6. rise. 9. improve.

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  • Decline — is a change over time from previously efficient to inefficient organizational functioning, from previously rational to non rational organizational and individual decision making, from previously law abiding to law violating organizational and… …   Wikipedia

  • Decline — De*cline , v. i. [imp. & p. p. {Declined}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Declining}.] [OE. declinen to bend down, lower, sink, decline (a noun), F. d[ e]cliner to decline, refuse, fr. L. declinare to turn aside, inflect (a part of speech), avoid; de + clinare …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Decline — De*cline , v. t. 1. To bend downward; to bring down; to depress; to cause to bend, or fall. [1913 Webster] In melancholy deep, with head declined. Thomson. [1913 Webster] And now fair Phoebus gan decline in haste His weary wagon to the western… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • decline — vb Decline, refuse, reject, repudiate, spurn are comparable when they mean to turn away something or someone by not consenting to accept, receive, or consider it or him. Decline is the most courteous of these terms and is used chiefly in respect… …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • decline — [n1] lessening abatement, backsliding, comedown, cropper*, decay, decrepitude, degeneracy, degeneration, descent, deterioration, devolution, diminution, dissolution, dive, downfall, downgrade, downturn, drop, dwindling, ebb, ebbing, enfeeblement …   New thesaurus

  • decline — [dē klīn′, diklīn′] vi. declined, declining [ME declinen < OFr decliner, to bend, turn aside < L declinare, to bend from, inflect < de , from (see DE ) + clinare, to bend: see LEAN1] 1. to bend, turn, or slope downward or aside 2. a) …   English World dictionary

  • decline — I noun abatement, act of crumbling, act of dwindling, act of falling away, act of lessening, act of losing ground, act of shrinking, act of slipping back, act of wasting away, act of weakening, act of worsening, atrophy, backward step, cheapening …   Law dictionary

  • décliné — ⇒DÉCLINÉ, ÉE, part. passé et adj. I. Part. passé de décliner1. II. Adj. Qui s écarte d une direction donnée. A. [En parlant d un astre] Qui retombe après avoir atteint son point culminant. Les feux des soleils déclinés (RÉGNIER, Prem. poèmes,… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • décliné — décliné, ée (dé kli né, née) part. passé. 1°   Fléchi suivant les règles de la déclinaison. Un mot décliné. 2°   Terme de procédure. Dont on n accepte pas la compétence. Cette juridiction déclinée par les parties.    Par extension, refusé. Une… …   Dictionnaire de la Langue Française d'Émile Littré

  • decline — ► VERB 1) become smaller, weaker, or less in quality or quantity. 2) politely refuse. 3) (especially of the sun) move downwards. 4) Grammar form (a noun, pronoun, or adjective) according to case, number, and gender. ► NOUN ▪ a gradual and… …   English terms dictionary

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