declined 1 of 2

adjective

as in bowing
bending downward or forward we awaited our punishment with declined heads

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declined

2 of 2

verb

past tense of decline
1
as in refused
to show unwillingness to accept, do, engage in, or agree to he declined the invitation to the party she declined to participate in the soccer game

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in denied
to be unwilling to grant declined our request to hold a party

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in fell
to go to a lower level especially abruptly new-car sales declined to their lowest level in years

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4
as in deteriorated
to become worse or of less value his reputation as a writer began to decline not long after his death

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5
as in decreased
to grow less in scope or intensity especially gradually the winds should decline as soon as the cold front passes

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6
as in plunged
to lead or extend downward the bike path declines toward the riverbank and then follows the river for several miles

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of declined
Verb
The local district attorney declined to seek criminal charges, but the criminal case was reopened after the lawsuit was filed. — Arkansas Online, 10 Oct. 2026 The campaign for the Democratic nominee for governor, David Jolly, declined to comment on what the new opinion meant for the Hope Florida saga. — Liv Caputo, Miami Herald, 10 Oct. 2026 Lorah declined to discuss motive but said investigators would talk to other relatives and examine the cellphones of the women who were killed outside the home. — Jacqueline Ganun, Los Angeles Times, 10 Oct. 2026 The firms declined a skills test at the outset, so the researchers inferred skill gains from random assignment instead of measuring before and after. — Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 10 Oct. 2026 Meta has since called on TikTok and YouTube to impose similar safeguards, including by waging an ad campaign that TikTok reportedly declined to share on its platform. — Emma Roth, The Verge, 9 Oct. 2026 And since then, their tolerance for a leader’s overreach has noticeably declined. — Thomas Shull, Washington Post, 9 Oct. 2026 Warsh at the start of the summer declined to say whether rates should rise. — Taylor Millard, The Washington Examiner, 3 Oct. 2026 Among the documents obtained by the Times also were records showing the district attorney’s office declined to review any additional evidence gathered by the campus police department beyond the six-page statement signed by Doe. — Isa Mudannayake, CNN Money, 3 Oct. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for declined
  1. nodding
  2. refused
  3. denied
  4. fell
  5. deteriorated
  6. decreased
  7. plunged
  8. weeping
Adjective
  • James O’Donoghue, a planetary scientist with the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, likened our planet’s tilting phenomenon to a nodding head.
    — Aylin Woodward, WSJ, 21 Dec. 2021
Definition of nodding
Verb
  • Burnham has refused to rule out tax hikes, and the British press is reporting that windfall taxes targeting banks might be on the table.
    — Chloe Taylor, CNBC, 6 Oct. 2026
  • Iran has continued to attack some tankers shuttling oil through the strait – but those could be ships that refused to pay a toll, Brouhard suggested.
    — David Goldman, CNN Money, 6 Oct. 2026
Definition of refused
Verb
  • Western Commissioner Rick Lett said the event permit application has been handled with guidance from the county's legal adviser, and that if the H Highway bridge had been out, the county likely would have denied the application.
    — Glory Reitz, Arkansas Online, 12 Oct. 2026
  • Ethiopian authorities previously have accused Eritrea of supporting the TPLF, an allegation Eritrea has denied.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 11 Oct. 2026
Definition of denied
Verb
  • Yet trees that took a millennium to grow can be felled in under an hour.
    — Annika Hammerschlag, Los Angeles Times, 16 Sep. 2026
  • Vines are pulled away from fences, and sometimes trees are even felled.
    — The Washington Post, San Diego Union-Tribune, 12 Sep. 2026
Definition of fell
Verb
  • The central bank's monthly Survey of Consumer Expectations found that consumers expect inflation to be even higher a year from now, while perceptions about their own financial standing deteriorated.
    — Jessica Dickler, CNBC, 7 Oct. 2026
  • However, as Germany’s economic problems — slow growth, high inflation, rising energy prices — have worsened, public sentiment toward the newcomers has deteriorated.
    — Kirsten Grieshaber, Los Angeles Times, 6 Oct. 2026
Definition of deteriorated
Verb
  • Deaths from the virus have decreased by 36% in the past decade.
    — Philip A. Chan, STAT, 8 Oct. 2026
  • Penalties of $3,400 issued the same month against the town of Brentwood were decreased to $2,600 after a settlement.
    — William J. Ford, Baltimore Sun, 8 Oct. 2026
Definition of decreased
Verb
  • At Adoptions for Love, a cat rescue currently sheltering 80 felines in the more upscale neighborhood of Playa, the number of people looking to adopt has plunged.
    — Orlando Matos, NBC news, 7 Oct. 2026
  • GoPro went public at $24 per share five years before that, and has plunged over 94%, as of Monday.
    — Morgan Chittum, Fortune, 6 Oct. 2026
Definition of plunged
Adjective
  • And every day, across from them, outside the clinic, about to enter or just leaving, there were women hugging each other and weeping.
    — David Mamet, National Review, 11 Aug. 2022
  • The show manages to stay on the brink — always laughing, never quite weeping — for its entire length.
    — Helen Shaw, Vulture, 8 Dec. 2021
Definition of weeping

Browse Nearby Words

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declined
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Cite this Entry

“Declined.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/declined. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

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