decline

1 of 2

verb

de·​cline di-ˈklīn 

dē-

declined; declining

intransitive verb

1

: to become less in amount

The price of the stock declined.

2

: to tend toward an inferior state or weaker condition

his health declined

Employee morale declined after the layoffs.

3

: to withhold consent

We invited him but he declined.

4

a

of a celestial body : to sink toward setting

the declining sun

b

: to draw toward a close : wane

the day declined

5

a

: to slope downward : descend

b

: to bend down : droop

… eyes … declining toward the ground …

—Henry Fielding

c

: to stoop (see stoop entry 1 sense 3b) to what is unworthy

… the direful shameful state Adam declined into …

—Edward Taylor

6

archaic : to turn from a straight course : stray

transitive verb

1

a

: to refuse especially courteously

decline an invitation

declined to give her name to the reporter

b

: to refuse to undertake, undergo, engage in, or comply with

decline battle

2

grammar : to give in prescribed order the grammatical forms of (a noun, pronoun, or adjective)

decline the Latin adjective "brevis"

3

: to cause to bend or bow downward

… the clover … declines its blooms.

—W. C. Bryant

4

obsolete

a

: avert

… evasions are sought to decline the pressure of resistless arguments …

—Samuel Johnson

b

: avoid

… sinners … despairing to decline their fate …

—Thomas Ken

declinable

di-ˈklī-nə-bəl 

adjective

decliner

di-ˈklī-nər 

noun

decline

2 of 2

noun

de·​cline di-ˈklīn 

dē-,

also

ˈdē-ˌklīn 

1

: the process of declining:

a period of economic decline

a decline in the local bird population

a

: a gradual physical or mental sinking and wasting away

experiencing a mental decline

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

built on a slight decline

4

: a wasting disease

especially : pulmonary tuberculosis

Synonyms

Verb

• balk (at)
• deselect
• disapprove
• negative
• nix
• pass
• pass up
• refuse
• reject
• reprobate
• repudiate
• spurn
• throw out
• throw over
• turn down

Noun

• debilitation
• decay
• decaying
• declension
• degeneration
• descent
• deterioration
• ebbing
• enfeeblement
• weakening

Choose the Right Synonym for decline

Verb

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

Noun

deterioration, degeneration, decadence, decline mean the falling from a higher to a lower level in quality, character, or vitality.

deterioration implies generally the impairment of value or usefulness.

the deterioration of the house through neglect

degeneration stresses physical, intellectual, or especially moral retrogression.

the degeneration of their youthful idealism into cynicism

decadence presupposes a reaching and passing the peak of development and implies a turn downward with a consequent loss in vitality or energy.

cited love of luxury as a sign of cultural decadence

decline differs from decadence in suggesting a more markedly downward direction and greater momentum as well as more obvious evidence of deterioration.

the meteoric decline of his career after the scandal

Examples of decline in a Sentence

Verb

The construction of new houses declined five percent this year.

The animal's numbers are declining rapidly.

My grandmother's health has been declining since she broke her hip.

The civilization began to decline around 1000 B.C.

The company declined comment on the scandal.

He changed his mind and declined the company's offer.

I invited him, but he declined.

Noun

a period of economic decline

He says that American industry is in a state of decline.

The town fell into decline after the factory closed down.

The economy experienced a decline of two million jobs.

We saw a sharp decline in sales this month.

Declines led advances at the end of the trading day.

There was some decline in stock prices at the end of the trading session.

See More

Recent Examples on the Web

Verb

The Israeli prime minister's office declined to comment. —WSJ, 24 Nov. 2023

The Department of Buildings, which issues housing code violations, declined to comment beyond providing information about the violations at the property. —Danny Nguyen, Washington Post, 24 Nov. 2023

Representatives for Nvidia declined to comment on the lawsuit. —Chloe Taylor, Fortune, 24 Nov. 2023

On Tuesday, Pryor declined to comment on the details in the whistleblowers’ report. —Corinne Purtill, Los Angeles Times, 24 Nov. 2023

At stops attended by a New York Times reporter, representatives for the host restaurants declined to give specifics on the cost. —Anjali Huynh, New York Times, 22 Nov. 2023

Joshua Miller, one of Hayes’s two public defenders representing him in both cases, declined to comment. —Emily Palmer, Peoplemag, 22 Nov. 2023

Doe’s attorney, Douglas Wigdor, declined to comment further on the case. —Ethan Millman, Rolling Stone, 22 Nov. 2023

While both Hamas and hospital staff have denied the claim, CNN reported Monday that a U.S. official with knowledge of American intelligence said Hamas does have a command node beneath the hospital; the CIA declined to comment on the claim to CNN. —Molly Bohannon, Forbes, 13 Nov. 2023

Noun

For all the ink spilled about the retail apocalypse and the decline of malls, Park Plaza's parking lot was almost full on Friday at midafternoon. —Staff and Wire Reports, arkansasonline.com, 25 Nov. 2023

Getty Images Adhering to the Mediterranean diet as one ages appears to reduce the risk of cognitive decline, finds yet another study—one scientists say provides the strongest proof yet of its benefits. —Byerin Prater, Fortune Well, 24 Nov. 2023

That decrease was driven, in part, by the decline of manufacturing in this country and the spread of factories to states, largely in the South, that prohibited unions from forcing workers to pay dues. —Kurtis Lee, New York Times, 23 Nov. 2023

The decline of vaccinations made available during the COVID-19 pandemic was attributed as a contributing factor. —Ingrid Vasquez, Peoplemag, 22 Nov. 2023

At the dawn of the new millennium, however, the mayor, Francisco de la Torre, took steps to reverse the decline. —Lisa Johnson, Condé Nast Traveler, 20 Nov. 2023

If anything, they are interrelated, as wars are complex events; the decline of U.S. hegemony contributes to growing multipolarity; and great-power competition has surely fed Russia’s aggression and the West’s response. —Paul Poast, The Atlantic, 17 Nov. 2023

In lower-income countries, the declines are attributed to weak health care systems, inadequate funding, and security challenges — issues that were all exacerbated by the pandemic, which eroded the ability of public health workers around the world to reach unvaccinated children. —Helen Branswell, STAT, 16 Nov. 2023

However, analysts and investors took solace in the fact that Target’s declines were lower than expected, taking the numbers as a sign of an impending turnaround. —Bypaolo Confino, Fortune, 16 Nov. 2023

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Word History

Etymology

Verb and Noun

Middle English, from Anglo-French decliner, from Latin declinare to turn aside, inflect, from de- + clinare to incline — more at lean

First Known Use

Verb

14th century, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 6

Noun

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing decline

• in terminal decline
• in decline
• on the decline

• in terminal decline
• in decline
• on the decline

Kids Definition

decline

1 of 2 verb

de·​cline di-ˈklīn 

declined; declining

1

a

: to slope downward : descend

b

: to bend down

declined his head

2

: to pass toward a lower state or level

his health declined

their enthusiasm declined

3

: to draw toward a close : wane

the day declined

4

: to become less in amount

prices declined

5

a

: to show unwillingness to accept, do, engage in, or agree to

declined to run for a second term

b

: to refuse especially courteously

declined the offer

6

: to give the declension of a noun, pronoun, or adjective

declinable

-ˈklī-nə-bəl 

adjective

decline

2 of 2 noun

1

: the process of declining:

a

: a gradual sinking and wasting away

b

: a change to a lower state or level

2

: the time when something is approaching its end

an empire in decline

3

: a downward slope

Medical Definition

decline

1 of 2 intransitive verb

de·​cline di-ˈklīn 

declined; declining

: to tend toward an impaired state or a weaker condition

decline

2 of 2 noun

1

: the process of declining

especially : a gradual physical or mental sinking and wasting away

2

: the period during which the end of life is approaching

3

: a wasting disease

especially : pulmonary tuberculosis