Question

decline vi.下倾,下降,下垂 v.拒绝,衰落 n.下倾,下降,下垂,斜面,斜坡,衰败,衰落 Watch those parts of speech! The verb to decline means to refuse to accept, but the noun decline means a downward slope, the opposite of an "incline." At the gym, the treadmill usually has an "incline" button to control how steep a slope you're climbing. Sadly, there's no button for "decline," which would be so much easier. Nationally, wages are on the decline, but, surprisingly, spending seems to be holding steady. These are not the only words that contain the element cline, which means "to bend." The prefix is what tells you which way the bend is going. Decline implies a going, or turning, down. ★★★★☆ 2005.4

Accepted Answer

[di'klain] Her breath smelled so bad he had to decline her invitation for a kiss. Ever since then, their love affair has been on the decline. According to McWhorter, the decline of formal English is but all too natural in language development. 1[VERB 动词]下降；减少；衰退；衰落 If something declines, it becomes less in quantity, importance, or strength.   [V from/to/by amount]  [V amount]  [V]  [V-ing]The number of staff has declined from 217,000 to 114,000...员工人数从 21.7万减少到了11.4万。Hourly output by workers declined 1.3% in the first quarter...第一季度工人每小时的产量下降了 1.3%。Union membership and union power are declining fast.工会的人数和力量都在迅速萎缩。...a declining birth rate.呈下降态势的人口出生率2[VERB 动词]婉拒；谢绝 If you decline something or decline to do something, you politely refuse to accept it or do it.   [V n]  [V to-inf]  [V]  [FORMAL 正式]He declined their invitation...他谢绝了他们的邀请。The band declined to comment on the story...乐队拒绝对这一报道作任何评论。He offered the boys some coffee. They declined politely.他问那些小伙子要不要来点咖啡，他们婉辞了。3[N-VAR 可变名词]下降；减少；衰退；衰落 If there is a decline in something, it becomes less in quantity, importance, or quality.   [oft N with poss]There wasn't such a big decline in enrollments after all...注册人数终究还是没有出现如此大幅度的下降。...Rome's decline in the fifth century...公元5世纪时罗马的衰落The first signs of economic decline became visible.经济衰退的最初迹象开始显现出来。4[PHRASE 短语]逐渐势微；正在衰退 If something is in decline or on the decline, it is gradually decreasing in importance, quality, or power.   [v-link PHR]Thankfully the smoking of cigarettes is on the decline...令人欣慰的是，吸烟量在逐渐下降。He is still one of the world's most popular golfers, but his game is in decline.他仍是世界上最受欢迎的高尔夫球选手之一，但他的球技日不如前。5[PHRASE 短语]走下坡路；开始衰退 If something goes or falls into decline, it begins to gradually decrease in importance, quality, or power. Libraries are an investment for the future and they should not be allowed to fall into decline.图书馆是对未来的一项投资，不应任其日趋萎缩。

英语单词	decline
英美音标	[di'klain]
中文释义	vi.下倾,下降,下垂 v.拒绝,衰落 n.下倾,下降,下垂,斜面,斜坡,衰败,衰落
vocab简明	Her breath smelled so bad he had to decline her invitation for a kiss. Ever since then, their love affair has been on the decline.
vocab扩展	Watch those parts of speech! The verb to decline means to refuse to accept, but the noun decline means a downward slope, the opposite of an "incline." At the gym, the treadmill usually has an "incline" button to control how steep a slope you're climbing. Sadly, there's no button for "decline," which would be so much easier. Nationally, wages are on the decline, but, surprisingly, spending seems to be holding steady. These are not the only words that contain the element cline, which means "to bend." The prefix is what tells you which way the bend is going. Decline implies a going, or turning, down.
真题原句	According to McWhorter, the decline of formal English is but all too natural in language development.
柯林斯星级	★★★★☆
柯林斯解释	1 [VERB 动词]下降；减少；衰退；衰落 If something declines, it becomes less in quantity, importance, or strength. [V from/to/by amount] [V amount] [V] [V-ing] The number of staff has declined from 217,000 to 114,000... 员工人数从 21.7万减少到了11.4万。 Hourly output by workers declined 1.3% in the first quarter... 第一季度工人每小时的产量下降了 1.3%。 Union membership and union power are declining fast. 工会的人数和力量都在迅速萎缩。 ...a declining birth rate. 呈下降态势的人口出生率 2 [VERB 动词]婉拒；谢绝 If you decline something or decline to do something, you politely refuse to accept it or do it. [V n] [V to-inf] [V] [FORMAL 正式] He declined their invitation... 他谢绝了他们的邀请。 The band declined to comment on the story... 乐队拒绝对这一报道作任何评论。 He offered the boys some coffee. They declined politely. 他问那些小伙子要不要来点咖啡，他们婉辞了。 3 [N-VAR 可变名词]下降；减少；衰退；衰落 If there is a decline in something, it becomes less in quantity, importance, or quality. [oft N with poss] There wasn't such a big decline in enrollments after all... 注册人数终究还是没有出现如此大幅度的下降。 ...Rome's decline in the fifth century... 公元5世纪时罗马的衰落 The first signs of economic decline became visible. 经济衰退的最初迹象开始显现出来。 4 [PHRASE 短语]逐渐势微；正在衰退 If something is in decline or on the decline, it is gradually decreasing in importance, quality, or power. [v-link PHR] Thankfully the smoking of cigarettes is on the decline... 令人欣慰的是，吸烟量在逐渐下降。 He is still one of the world's most popular golfers, but his game is in decline. 他仍是世界上最受欢迎的高尔夫球选手之一，但他的球技日不如前。 5 [PHRASE 短语]走下坡路；开始衰退 If something goes or falls into decline, it begins to gradually decrease in importance, quality, or power. Libraries are an investment for the future and they should not be allowed to fall into decline. 图书馆是对未来的一项投资，不应任其日趋萎缩。
来源	2005.4

Decline D Importance [V Means Refuse Button Verb