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Verb: decline  di'klIn
  1. Grow worse
    "Conditions in the slum declined";
    - worsen
     
  2. Grow smaller
    "Interest in the project declined";
    - go down, wane
     
  3. Go down
    "The roof declines here"
     
  4. Fall in value
    "prices declined";
    - slump, correct
     
  5. Show unwillingness towards
    "he declined to join the group on a hike";
    - refuse
     
  6. Not agree with a request or proposition
    "He declined to accept what she said";
    - refuse, reject
     
  7. Inflect for number, gender, case, etc.
    "in many languages, speakers decline nouns, pronouns, and adjectives"
Noun: decline  di'klIn
  1. Change toward something smaller or lower
    "The decline in birth rates has led to an aging population";
    - diminution
     
  2. A condition inferior to an earlier condition; a gradual falling off from a better state; decline
    "The decline of the empire was evident in its weakening economy";
    - declination
     
  3. A gradual decrease
    "The decline of the battery's charge over time reduced its effectiveness";
    - decay
     
  4. A downward slope or bend
    "The hikers carefully navigated the steep decline on the mountain path";
    - descent, declivity, fall, declination, declension [archaic], downslope

Derived forms: declined, declines, declining

Type of: change state, come down, condition, decrease, decrement, dent, descend, diminish, drop, evaluate, fall, go down, incline, inflect, judge, lessen, pass judgment, react, reply, respond, side, sink, slope, status, turn

Antonym: accept, improve

Encyclopedia: Decline