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Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary de·cline
(de·clined ; de·clin·ing) ETYMOLOGY Middle English, from Anglo-French decliner, from Latin declinare to turn aside, inflect, from de- + clinare to incline — more at lean DATE 14th century intransitive verb 1. archaic : to turn from a straight course : stray 2. a. to slope downward : descend b. to bend down : droop c. to stoop to what is unworthy 3. a. of a celestial body : to sink toward setting b. to draw toward a close : wane the day declined 4. to tend toward an inferior state or weaker condition his health declined morale declined 5. to withhold consent 6. to become less in amount prices declined transitive verb 1. to give in prescribed order the grammatical forms of (a noun, pronoun, or adjective) 2. obsolete a. avert b. avoid 3. to cause to bend or bow downward 4. a. to refuse to undertake, undergo, engage in, or comply with decline battle b. to refuse especially courteously decline an invitation Synonyms. 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
DATE 14th century 1. the process of declining: a. a gradual physical or mental sinking and wasting away 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 4. a wasting disease; especially : pulmonary tuberculosis Synonyms: see deterioration English Etymology decline early 14c., "to turn aside, deviate," from O.Fr . decliner "to bend, turn aside," from L. declinare "to bend from, inflect," from de-"from" + clinare "to bend," from PIE *klei-n-, suffixed form of *klei"to lean" (see lean (v.)). Sense has been altered since 15c. by interpretation of de- as "downward." Meaning "not to consent" is from 1630s.http://O.Fr Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary-牛津双解-OALD7 ☞ decline de·cline / di5klain / noun[C, usually sing., U] ~ (in sth) | ~ (of sth) a continuous decrease in the number, value, quality, etc. of sth (数量、价值、质量等的)减少,下降,衰落,衰退: a rapid / sharp / gradual decline 迅速/急剧/逐渐下降 urban / economic decline 城市衰落；经济衰退 The company reported a small decline in its profits. 公司报告其利润略有减少。 An increase in cars has resulted in the decline of public transport. 汽车的增加导致了公共交通的减少。 The town fell into (a) decline (= started to be less busy, important, etc.) after the mine closed. 这个镇在矿井关闭后开始衰落。 Industry in Britain has been in decline since the 1970s. 英国工业自 20 世纪 70 年代以来一直在走下坡路。 verb1. [V] to become smaller, fewer, weaker, etc. 减少；下降；衰弱；衰退: Support for the party continues to decline. 对该党的支持继续下降。 The number of tourists to the resort declined by 10% last year. 去年到这个胜地旅游的人数减少了 10%。 Her health was declining rapidly. 她的健康状况迅速恶化。 2. (formal) to refuse politely to accept or to do sth 谢绝；婉言拒绝 SYN refuse :
▪ [V] I offered to give them a lift but they declined. 我主动邀请他们搭车,但他们婉言谢绝了。 ▪ [VN] to decline an offer / invitation 谢绝对方的主动帮助/邀请 ▪ [V to inf] Their spokesman declined to comment on the allegations. 他们的发言人拒绝对这些指控加以评论。 3. [V VN] (grammar 语法) if a noun, an adjective or a pronoundeclines, it has different forms according to whether it is the subject or the object of a verb, whether it is in the singular or plural, etc. When you decline a noun, etc., you list these forms. (根据名词、形容词或代词在句中的作用)变格,使发生词形变化 ⇨ compare conjugate IDIOMS ▪ sb's declining 'years (literary) the last years of sb's life 暮年；晚年 Oxford Collocations Dictionary for Students of English decline verb 1 refuse ADV. politely | absolutely I absolutely decline to discuss my dealings with him or anyone. 2 become smaller/weaker ADV. considerably, dramatically, drastically, markedly, sharply, significantly, steeply The economy has declined sharply in recent years. | a little, slightly | fast, rapidly The market for these products is declining fast. | steadily | gradually, slowly | further PREP. by Profits declined by 6% this year. | from, to The number of full-time staff has declined from 300 to just 50. PHRASES decline in importance/numbers/size This section of the market has slowly declined in importance. Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Thesaurus-11th Edition n. Function: noun 1 Synonyms: FAILURE 4, declination, deterioration, ebbing, waning Related Words: devitalization, weakening Contrasted Words: advancement, progress; recovery; development, maturation 2 Synonyms: DETERIORATION 1, decadence, declension, declination, degeneracy, degeneration, dégringolade, devolution, downfall, downgrade Related Words: comedown, descent, drop, fall, falling off, slump; ebb, wane; backsliding, lapse, relapse Contrasted Words: development, evolution 3 a downward movement (as in price or value) FF1C;stocks suffered a decline in the marketFF1E; Synonyms: dip, downslide, downswing, downtrend, downturn, drop, falloff, sag, slide, slip, slump Related Words: lapse, loss, lowering; depression; decrease, drop-off, sell-off Contrasted Words: upswing, uptrend, upturn 4 Synonyms: DESCENT 4, declivity, dip, drop, falln. Function: verb 1 Synonyms: SET 12, dip, go down, sink Antonyms: ascend 2 Synonyms: FAIL 1, deteriorate, ||dwine, fade, flag, languish, weaken Related Words: backslide, lapse, relapse; slide; return, revert; recede, retrograde; abate, ebb, subside, wane Idioms: go downhill, take a turn for the worse Contrasted Words: advance, progress; develop, mature; gain, recover 3 Synonyms: DETERIORATE 1, degenerate, descend, disimprove, disintegrate, retrograde, rot, sink, worsen 4 to turn away by not accepting, receiving, or considering FF1C;he declined the invitationFF1E; Synonyms: disapprove, dismiss, refuse, reject, reprobate, repudiate, spurn, turn down Related Words: balk, boggle, demur, jib, scruple, shy, stick, stickle; abstain, forbear, refrain; deny, gainsay; abjure, renounce; bypass Idioms: send regrets Contrasted Words: receive, take; accede, acquiesce, assent, consent; choose, select; adopt, embrace, espouse Antonyms: accept Webster's Third New International Dictionary, Unabridged Search result show the entry is found in: quick decline , or spreading decline , or decline disease de·cline I. \də̇ˈklīn, dēˈ-\ verb (-ed/-ing/-s) Etymology: Middle English declinen, from Middle French decliner to inflect grammatically, turn aside, sink, from Latin declinare to inflect grammatically, turn aside, from de from, away + -clinare to incline — more at de- , lean intransitive verb 1. : to turn aside : deviate from or as if from a straight course : stray < walked in the ways of David his father and declined neither to the right hand nor to the left — 2 Chron 34:2 (Authorized Version) > 2. : to take a downward direction: as a. : to slope downward : descend < pipes used for the conveyance of gasoline shall decline to tanks — Fire Manual (Massachusetts) > < the path declines to the track > b. : to bend down : droop < eyes … declining toward the ground — Henry Fielding > c. : to stoop or descend to what is unworthy < the direful shameful state Adam declined into — Edward Taylor > 3. a. of a celestial body : to sink toward setting < the sun had begun to decline > b. : to draw toward a close < as the day declined the place became insupportable — Ellen Glasgow > 4. : to tend toward an inferior state or weaker condition : become diminished or impaired : fail < the powers of the mind and body begin with added years to decline — C.W.Eliot > 5. obsolete : incline , tend < your weeping sister is no wife of mine … far more, far more to you do I decline — Shakespeare > 6. : to withhold consent : refuse < when I invited him he declined > transitive verb 1. a. : to give in some prescribed order the various grammatical forms of : inflect — used formerly of any inflected word, now only of a noun, pronoun, or adjective < decline the Latin adjective bonus > b. obsolete : to recite formally or in some prescribed order < that you no harsh nor shallow rimes decline — Michael Drayton > 2. obsolete a. : to cause to turn aside : avert < evasions are sought to decline the pressure of resistless arguments — Samuel Johnson > b. : to turn aside from : avoid < sinners … despairing to decline their fate — Thomas Ken > 3. : to cause to bend, bow, or fall : bring or move down : bend downward < the clover … declines its blooms — W.C.Bryant > 4. a. : to refuse to undertake, engage in, or comply with : reject < sought out the English fleet but it declined battle — L.W.Dean > b. : to refuse courteously or politely : not to accept < declining the unwanted manuscript — August Frugé > 5. : to refuse to accept (gambit) or pursue (a line of play) when an opponent in chess offers the opportunity Synonyms: decline , refuse , reject , repudiate , and spurn can all mean to turn away something or someone by not consenting to accept, receive, or consider it or him. decline , the most courteous of the terms, is used chiefly in connection with invitations, offers of help, or services < to decline an offer of a chairmanship > < to decline a formal invitation > < to decline to answer personal questions > refuse is more positive, implying decisiveness, even ungraciousness < to refuse an invitation and insult a friend thereby > < to refuse to answer personal questions > < to refuse all offers of marriage > reject implies a refusal to have anything to do with a person or thing < to reject an appeal for help > < rejecting with scorn all that can be called mysticism — W.R.Inge > < rejected by their mothers, shunted from one boarding home to another, these youngsters have lost faith in the kindliness of adults — Alice Lake > repudiate implies a disowning or rejecting with scorn as untrue, unauthorized, unworthy of acceptance, making false claim, and so on < it is not so easy to repudiate one's heritage — A.J.Toynbee > < in permitting the husband to repudiate his wife at his own whim — Reuben Levy > < Bradburn had repudiated his promise — American Guide Series: Texas > spurn implies even stronger disdain or contempt in rejection than repudiate < a devoted beau whom she had spurned for her lover — Joseph Schiffman > < neglected God for years and spurned His commandments — Bruce Marshall > < to spurn an offer of help > II. \“ sometimes ˈdēˌ-\ noun (-s) Etymology: Middle English declyn, from Middle French declin, from decliner to sink 1. : the process of declining : a falling off < the reading of books is suffering a decline — J.D.Adams > a. : a change to a weaker condition : a gradual sinking and wasting away of the physical or mental faculties b. : a change to an inferior or less favorable state < the decline of the aristocracy > < the decline of the small nations > c. (1) : a downward movement or gradual fall (as in price or value) < a late buying movement in these grains eliminated most early declines — Wall Street Journal > : diminution < a decline in population > (2) : a downward course (as of the blood pressure or of a fever) : defervescence 2. : the period during which something is approaching its end or setting < in the decline of life > 3. : a downward slope : declivity < constructed on a slight decline away from the kennels to allow the water to drain away — Smallholder Encyclopaedia > 4. a. : any wasting disease < young men who work themselves into a decline and are driven off in a hearse — R.L.Stevenson > especially : pulmonary tuberculosis b. also decline disease : any progressively deleterious disease or condition of plants — compare quick decline |
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