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69 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 : [ gcide ]


  Decline \De*cline"\, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Declined; p. pr. &
     vb. n. Declining.] [OE. declinen to bend down, lower, sink,
     decline (a noun), F. d['e]cliner to decline, refuse, fr. L.
     declinare to turn aside, inflect (a part of speech), avoid;
     de- + clinare to incline; akin to E. lean. See Lean, v. i.]
     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.''
        --Shak.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              He . . . would decline even to the lowest of his
              family.                               --Lady
                                                    Hutchinson.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              Disdaining to decline,
              Slowly he falls, amidst triumphant cries. --Byron.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              The ground at length became broken and declined
              rapidly.                              --Sir W.
                                                    Scott.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     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.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              That empire must decline
              Whose chief support and sinews are of coin.
                                                    --Waller.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              And presume to know . . .
              Who thrives, and who declines.        --Shak.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     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.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              Yet do I not decline from thy testimonies. --Ps.
                                                    cxix. 157.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     4. To turn away; to shun; to refuse; -- the opposite of
        accept or consent; as, he declined, upon principle.
        [1913 Webster]

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 : [ gcide ]


  Decline \De*cline"\, n. [F. d['e]clin. See Decline, v. i.]
     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.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              Their fathers lived in the decline of literature.
                                                    --Swift.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     2. (Med.) That period of a disorder or paroxysm when the
        symptoms begin to abate in violence; as, the decline of a
        fever.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     3. A gradual sinking and wasting away of the physical
        faculties; any wasting disease, esp. pulmonary
        consumption; as, to die of a decline. --Dunglison.
  
     Syn: Decline, Decay, Consumption.
  
     Usage: 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.
            [1913 Webster]

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 : [ gcide ]


  Decline \De*cline"\, v. t.
     1. To bend downward; to bring down; to depress; to cause to
        bend, or fall.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              In melancholy deep, with head declined. --Thomson.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              And now fair Phoebus gan decline in haste
              His weary wagon to the western vale.  --Spenser.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     2. To cause to decrease or diminish. [Obs.] ``You have
        declined his means.'' --Beau. & Fl.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              He knoweth his error, but will not seek to decline
              it.                                   --Burton.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     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.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              Could I
              Decline this dreadful hour?           --Massinger.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     4. (Gram.) To inflect, or rehearse in order the changes of
        grammatical form of; as, to decline a noun or an
        adjective.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     Note: Now restricted to such words as have case inflections;
           but formerly it was applied both to declension and
           conjugation.
           [1913 Webster]
  
                 After the first declining of a noun and a verb.
                                                    --Ascham.
           [1913 Webster]
  
     5. To run through from first to last; to repeat like a
        schoolboy declining a noun. [R.] --Shak.
        [1913 Webster]

From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) : [ web1913 ]


  Decline \De*cline"\, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Declined; p. pr. &
     vb. n. Declining.] [OE. declinen to bend down, lower, sink,
     decline (a noun), F. d['e]cliner to decline, refuse, fr. L.
     declinare to turn aside, inflect (a part of speech), avoid;
     de- + clinare to incline; akin to E. lean. See Lean, v. i.]
     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.''
        --Shak.
  
              He . . . would decline even to the lowest of his
              family.                               --Lady
                                                    Hutchinson.
  
              Disdaining to decline, Slowly he falls, amidst
              triumphant cries.                     --Byron.
  
              The ground at length became broken and declined
              rapidly.                              --Sir W.
                                                    Scott.
  
     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.                   --Waller.
  
              And presume to know . . . Who thrives, and who
              declines.                             --Shak.
  
     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. --Ps.
                                                    cxix. 157.
  
     4. To turn away; to shun; to refuse; -- the opposite of
        accept or consent; as, he declined, upon principle.

From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) : [ web1913 ]


  Decline \De*cline"\, v. t.
     1. To bend downward; to bring down; to depress; to cause to
        bend, or fall.
  
              In melancholy deep, with head declined. --Thomson.
  
              And now fair Phoebus gan decline in haste His weary
              wagon to the western vale.            --Spenser.
  
     2. To cause to decrease or diminish. [Obs.] ``You have
        declined his means.'' --Beau. & Fl.
  
              He knoweth his error, but will not seek to decline
              it.                                   --Burton.
  
     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?   --Massinger.
  
     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.
                                                    --Ascham.
  
     5. To run through from first to last; to repeat like a
        schoolboy declining a noun. [R.] --Shak.

From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) : [ web1913 ]


  Decline \De*cline"\, n. [F. d['e]clin. See Decline, v. i.]
     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.
                                                    --Swift.
  
     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. --Dunglison.
  
     Syn: Decline, Decay, Consumption.
  
     Usage: 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.

From WordNet (r) 2.0 : [ wn ]


  decline
       n 1: change toward something smaller or lower [syn: diminution]
       2: a condition inferior to an earlier condition; a gradual
          falling off from a better state [syn: declination] [ant:
           improvement]
       3: a gradual decrease; as of stored charge or current [syn: decay]
       4: a downward slope or bend [syn: descent, declivity, fall,
           declination, declension, downslope] [ant: ascent]
       v 1: grow worse; "Conditions in the slum worsened" [syn: worsen]
            [ant: better]
       2: refuse to accept; "He refused my offer of hospitality" [syn:
           refuse, reject, pass up, turn down] [ant: accept]
       3: show unwillingness towards; "he declined to join the group
          on a hike" [syn: refuse] [ant: accept]
       4: grow smaller; "Interest in the project waned" [syn: go down,
           wane]
       5: go down; "The roof declines here"
       6: go down in value; "the stock market corrected"; "prices
          slumped" [syn: slump, correct]
       7: inflect for number, gender, case, etc., "in many languages,
          speakers decline nouns, pronouns, and adjectives"

From Greek Wiktionary: All languages (2023-07-27) : [ dictinfo.com:wikt-el-ALL-2023-07-27 ]


  decline
     Αγγλικά n.
     1 πτώση, κίνηση προς τα κάτω
     2 κατωφέρεια σε δρόμο, κατωφερής πλαγιά
     3 εξασθένιση, παρακμή
     Αγγλικά vb.
     1 (αμτβ) πέφτω, εξασθενώ, φθίνω, μειώνομαι, γίνομαι λιγότερος ή πιο
  αδύναμος
     2 (ετικ μτβ γραμμ Αγγλικά) κλίνω ένα ουσιαστικό ή επίθετο ή αντωνυμία
     3 (ετικ μτβ επίσημο Αγγλικά) αρνούμαι (πχ μία προσφορά, μία πρόσκληση
  κλπ)

From English Wiktionary: All languages (2023-07-27) : [ dictinfo.com:wikt-en-ALL-2023-07-27 ]


  decline
     Portuguese vb.
     (pt-verb form of: declinar)
     Romanian vb.
     (verb form of ro declina  3 s//p pres sub)

From English Wiktionary: English language only (2023-07-27) : [ dictinfo.com:wikt-en-en-2023-07-27 ]


  decline
     n.
     1 downward movement, fall.(rfex: en)
     2 A sloping downward, e.g. of a hill or road.(rfex: en)
     3 (senseid en weakening)A weakening.(rfex: en)
     vb.
     1 (lb en intransitive) To move downwards, to fall, to drop.
     2 (lb en intransitive) To become weaker or worse.
     3 (lb en transitive) To bend downward; to bring down; to depress; to
  cause to bend, or fall.
     4 (lb en transitive) To cause to decrease or diminish.
     5 To turn or bend aside; to deviate; to stray; to withdraw.
     6 (lb en transitive) To choose not to do something; refuse, forbear,
  refrain.
     7 (lb en transitive grammar usually of substantives, adjectives and
  pronouns) To inflect for case, number, gender, and the like.
     8 (lb en transitive grammar) To recite all the different declined
  forms of (a word).

From English Wiktionary: Western, Greek, and Slavonic languages only (2023-07-27) : [ dictinfo.com:wikt-en-Western_Greek_Slavonic-2023-07-27 ]


  decline
     Portuguese vb.
     (pt-verb form of: declinar)
     Romanian vb.
     (verb form of ro declina  3 s//p pres sub)

From English Wiktionary: Western languages only (2023-07-27) : [ dictinfo.com:wikt-en-Western-2023-07-27 ]


  decline
     Portuguese vb.
     (pt-verb form of: declinar)
     Spanish vb.
     (es-verb form of: declinar)

From Finnish Wiktionary: All languages (2023-07-27) : [ dictinfo.com:wikt-fi-ALL-2023-07-27 ]


  decline
     Espanja vb.
     (es-v-taivm 1 declin e)

From Swedish Wiktionary: All languages (2023-07-27) : [ dictinfo.com:wikt-sv-ALL-2023-07-27 ]


  decline
     Engelska n.
     avtagande, tillbakagång, nedgång, minskning, förfall, fallande,
  /prisfall/fall
     Engelska vb.
     1 avböja
     2 avta, minska
     3 (tagg grammatik språk=en text=om substantiv, pronomen och adjektiv)
  böja, deklinera

From English-Afrikaans FreeDict Dictionary ver. 0.1.3 : [ freedict:eng-afr ]


  decline /dɪklˈaɪn/
  1. afneem
  2. agteruitboer, agteruitgaan
  3. agteruitgang

From English-Arabic FreeDict Dictionary ver. 0.6.3 : [ freedict:eng-ara ]


  Decline /dɪklˈaɪn/
  الهبوط

From English-български език FreeDict+WikDict dictionary ver. 2023.05.29 : [ freedict:eng-bul ]


  decline //dɪˈklaɪn// 
  1. западане, упадък
  downward movement, fall
  2. склон
  sloping downward
  3. влошаване
  weakening

From English-български език FreeDict+WikDict dictionary ver. 2023.05.29 : [ freedict:eng-bul ]


  decline //dɪˈklaɪn// 
  1. влошавам се, западам
  become weaker or worse
  2. скланям
  inflect
  3. наклонявам се надолу, спадам
  move downwards
  4. отказвам
  refuse