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Decline   /dɪklˈaɪn/   Listen
noun
Decline  n.  
1.
A falling off; a tendency to a worse state; diminution or decay; deterioration; also, the period when a thing is tending toward extinction or a less perfect state; as, the decline of life; the decline of strength; the decline of virtue and religion. "Their fathers lived in the decline of literature."
2.
(Med.) That period of a disorder or paroxysm when the symptoms begin to abate in violence; as, the decline of a fever.
3.
A gradual sinking and wasting away of the physical faculties; any wasting disease, esp. pulmonary consumption; as, to die of a decline.
Synonyms: Decline, Decay, Consumption. Decline marks the first stage in a downward progress; decay indicates the second stage, and denotes a tendency to ultimate destruction; consumption marks a steady decay from an internal exhaustion of strength. The health may experience a decline from various causes at any period of life; it is naturally subject to decay with the advance of old age; consumption may take place at almost any period of life, from disease which wears out the constitution. In popular language decline is often used as synonymous with consumption. By a gradual decline, states and communities lose their strength and vigor; by progressive decay, they are stripped of their honor, stability, and greatness; by a consumption of their resources and vital energy, they are led rapidly on to a completion of their existence.


verb
Decline  v. t.  
1.
To bend downward; to bring down; to depress; to cause to bend, or fall. "In melancholy deep, with head declined." "And now fair Phoebus gan decline in haste His weary wagon to the western vale."
2.
To cause to decrease or diminish. (Obs.) "You have declined his means." "He knoweth his error, but will not seek to decline it."
3.
To put or turn aside; to turn off or away from; to refuse to undertake or comply with; reject; to shun; to avoid; as, to decline an offer; to decline a contest; he declined any participation with them. "Could I Decline this dreadful hour?"
4.
(Gram.) To inflect, or rehearse in order the changes of grammatical form of; as, to decline a noun or an adjective. Note: Now restricted to such words as have case inflections; but formerly it was applied both to declension and conjugation. "After the first declining of a noun and a verb."
5.
To run through from first to last; to repeat like a schoolboy declining a noun. (R.)


Decline  v. i.  (past & past part. declined; pres. part. declining)  
1.
To bend, or lean downward; to take a downward direction; to bend over or hang down, as from weakness, weariness, despondency, etc.; to condescend. "With declining head." "He... would decline even to the lowest of his family." "Disdaining to decline, Slowly he falls, amidst triumphant cries." "The ground at length became broken and declined rapidly."
2.
To tend or draw towards a close, decay, or extinction; to tend to a less perfect state; to become diminished or impaired; to fail; to sink; to diminish; to lessen; as, the day declines; virtue declines; religion declines; business declines. "That empire must decline Whose chief support and sinews are of coin." "And presume to know... Who thrives, and who declines."
3.
To turn or bend aside; to deviate; to stray; to withdraw; as, a line that declines from straightness; conduct that declines from sound morals. "Yet do I not decline from thy testimonies."
4.
To turn away; to shun; to refuse; the opposite of accept or consent; as, he declined, upon principle.





Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48


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"Decline" Quotes from Famous Books



... that was in fact induced by his anxiety over his prospective prosecution of Higgleby. Whereas erstwhile he had been smug and condescending, complacent, lethargic and ponderous, he now became drawn, nervous, apprehensive and obsequious. Moreover, he was markedly thinner. He was obviously on a decline, caused by sheer funk. Speak sharply to him and he would shy like a frightened pony. The Honorable Peckham was enraptured, claiming now to have a system of getting even with people that beat the invention of Torquemada. When it was represented to him that Caput might die, fade away entirely, ...
— By Advice of Counsel • Arthur Train
... believe that it was absolutely necessary when the concrete case arose to repudiate the principle to which we had thus committed ourselves. But it was a shameful thing to have put ourselves in such a position that it had to be repudiated, and it was inexcusable of us to decline to follow the principle in the case of the Lusitania without at the same time making frank confession of our error and misconduct by notifying all the powers with whom we had already made the treaties ...
— New York Times Current History; The European War, Vol 2, No. 5, August, 1915 • Various
... and thin, worrying myself to death.—Even Lady Dasher saw the change in me, hinting one day to the vicar, in my hearing, that she was positive I was in a decline, or suffering from heart-disease, and that office-work was really too hard ...
— She and I, Volume 2 - A Love Story. A Life History. • John Conroy Hutcheson
... resignations, Your Majesty has in Cabinet Council at the Palace of Stockholm on May 27th, decreed: "As it is clear to me that no other Cabinet can at present be formed, I decline to accept the resignations tendered by ...
— The Swedish-Norwegian Union Crisis - A History with Documents • Karl Nordlund
... which he casually mentioned the fact that land scrip had declined until it was offered on the streets of the capital as low as twenty dollars a section. He knew I had been dabbling in land certificates, and in a friendly spirit wanted to post me on their decline, and had incidentally mentioned the fact for my information. Some inkling of horse sense told me that I ought to secure more land, and after thinking the matter over, I wrote to a merchant in Austin, and had him buy me one hundred sections. He was very anxious to purchase a second hundred ...
— Reed Anthony, Cowman • Andy Adams


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