decline

UK: /dɪˈklaɪn/ US: /dɪˈklaɪn/ ,(di klīn′)

Inflections of 'decline' (v): (⇒ conjugate)

declines

v 3rd person singular

declining

v pres p

declined

v past

declined

v past p

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026

de•cline /dɪˈklaɪn/   v., -clined, -clin•ing, n. 
v. 

1. to deny consent (to do);
   refuse: [no obj]:
   I asked her over, but she declined.
   [~ + object]
   He declined our invitation.
   [ ~ + to + verb]:
   He declined to say how he would vote.
2. [no obj] to slope or incline downward:
   The hill declines sharply at this point.
3. [no obj] to fail in strength or health;
   deteriorate:
   His health is declining.
4. [no obj] to become less;
   diminish:
   to decline in popularity.

n. 

5. a downward slope;
   drop;
   downgrade:
   [countable] There's a sharp decline in the road up ahead.
6. a downward movement, such as of prices or population:
   [countable] a decline in the stock market.
7. a deterioration, such as in strength:
   [countable] a sudden decline in his health.
8. progress downward or toward the close or end of something:
   [uncountable] Prices are in decline.

de•clin•er, n. [countable]
de•clin•ing, adj. [before a noun]:

declining stock market prices.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026

de•cline  (di klīn′), v., -clined, -clin•ing, n. 
v.t. 

1. to withhold or deny consent to do, enter into or upon, etc.;
   refuse:
   He declined to say more about it.
2. to express inability or reluctance to accept;
   refuse with courtesy:
   to decline an invitation; to decline an offer.
3. to cause to slope or incline downward.
4. Grammar
   • Grammar to inflect (a noun, pronoun, or adjective), as Latin puella, declined puella, puellae, puellae, puellam, puella in the five cases of the singular.
   • Grammar to recite or display all or some subset of the inflected forms of a noun, pronoun, or adjective in a fixed order.

v.i. 

5. to express courteous refusal;
   refuse:
   We sent him an invitation but he declined.
6. to bend or slant down;
   slope downward;
   descend:
   The hill declines to the lake.
7. (of pathways, routes, objects, etc.) to follow a downward course or path:
   The sun declined in the skies.
8. to draw toward the close, as the day.
9. to fail in strength, vigor, character, value, etc.;
   deteriorate.
10. to fail or dwindle;
    sink or fade away:
    to decline in popularity.
11. to descend, as to an unworthy level;
    stoop.
12. Grammar to be characterized by declension.

n. 

13. a downward slope;
    declivity.
14. a downward movement, as of prices or population;
    diminution:
    a decline in the stock market.
15. a failing or gradual loss, as in strength, character, power, or value;
    deterioration:
    the decline of the Roman Empire.
16. a gradual deterioration of the physical powers, as in later life or in disease:
    After his seventieth birthday he went into a decline.
17. progress downward or toward the close, as of the sun or the day.
18. the later years or last part:
    He became an editor in the decline of his life.

• Old French, derivative of decliner
• Latin dēclīnāre to slope, incline, bend; compare Greek klí̄nein to lean¹; (noun, nominal) Middle English declin
• Old French: to inflect, turn aside, sink
• (verb, verbal) Middle English declinen 1275–1325

de•clin′er, n. 
Synonyms

• 1. reject. See refuse ¹.
• 9. degenerate, decay, weaken, diminish, languish.
• 13. hill.
• 15. retrogression, degeneration, enfeeblement, weakening.

Antonyms

• 6. rise.
• 9. improve.

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

decline / dɪˈklaɪn/ verb

1. to refuse to do or accept (something), esp politely
2. (intransitive) to grow smaller; diminish
3. to slope or cause to slope downwards
4. (intransitive) to deteriorate gradually, as in quality, health, or character
5. to state or list the inflections of (a noun, adjective, or pronoun), or (of a noun, adjective, or pronoun) to be inflected for number, case, or gender
   Compare conjugate1

noun

1. gradual deterioration or loss
2. a movement downwards or towards something smaller; diminution
3. a downward slope; declivity
4. any slowly progressive disease, such as tuberculosis

Etymology: 14th Century: from Old French decliner to inflect, turn away, sink, from Latin dēclīnāre to bend away, inflect grammatically

deˈclinable adjective

deˈcliner noun