Lexic.us

Definition of Decline

1. Verb. Grow worse. "The business is going to decline "; "Conditions in the slum worsened"

2. Noun. Change toward something smaller or lower.

3. Verb. Refuse to accept. "They decline the money "; "He refused my offer of hospitality"

4. Noun. A condition inferior to an earlier condition; a gradual falling off from a better state.

5. Verb. Show unwillingness towards. "They decline to move "; "He declined to join the group on a hike"

6. Noun. A gradual decrease; as of stored charge or current.

7. Verb. Grow smaller. "Interest in the project waned"

8. Noun. A downward slope or bend.

9. Verb. Go down. "The roof declines here"

10. Verb. Go down in value. "Prices slumped"

11. Verb. Inflect for number, gender, case, etc.,. "In many languages, speakers decline nouns, pronouns, and adjectives"

Definition of Decline

1. v. i. To bend, or lean downward; to take a downward direction; to bend over or hang down, as from weakness, weariness, despondency, etc.; to condescend.

2. v. t. To bend downward; to bring down; to depress; to cause to bend, or fall.

3. n. 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.

Definition of Decline

1. Noun. Downward movement, fall.(rfex) ¹

2. Noun. A sloping downward, e.g. of a hill or road.(rfex) ¹

3. Noun. A weakening.(rfex) ¹

4. Noun. A reduction or diminution of activity. ¹

5. Verb. (intransitive) To move downwards, to fall, to drop. ¹

6. Verb. (intransitive) To become weaker or worse. ¹

7. Verb. (transitive) To refuse, forbear. ¹

8. Verb. (transitive grammar) To list the inflected forms of a noun, pronoun (and in some languages adjective) for case and number. ¹

¹ Source: wiktionary.com

Definition of Decline

1. to refuse [v -CLINED, -CLINING, -CLINES] - See also: refuse

Medical Definition of Decline

1. 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. 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, especially. Pulmonary consumption; as, to die of a decline. Synonym: Decline, Decay, Consumption. 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. Origin: F. Declin. See Decline. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998)

Lexicographical Neighbors of Decline

declensionists declensions declimb declinability declinable declinal declinate declination declinational declinations

declinator declinators declinatory declinature declinatures decline (current term) decline in quality declined decliner decliners

declines declinest declineth declining declinism declinist declinists declinometer declinometers declinous

Literary usage of Decline

Below you will find example usage of this term as found in modern and/or classical literature:

1. Proceedings of the ... Annual Convention by Religious Education Association (1905)
"Coming directly to our questions: I. What is the truth in regard to the decline in number of students? Here are the figures of the United States ..."

2. The Catholic Encyclopedia: An International Work of Reference on the by Charles George Herbermann, Edward Aloysius Pace, Condé Bénoist Pallen, Thomas Joseph Shahan, John Joseph Wynne (1913)
"At any rate, the decline does not necessarily indicate an improvement in sexual morality. Nor does a high rate of illegitimacy in a country prove that the ..."

3. The Literary History of the Middle Ages: Comprehending an Account of the by Joseph Berington (1846)
"Sketch of the state of letters in the Augustan age—The causes of their rise briefly examined—First period of their decline—Second period— Third ..."

4. Ancient Times, a History of the Early World: An Introduction to the Study of by James Henry Breasted (1916)
"Commercial decline of Greece 725. Rise of the leagues thwarted him in ... THE decline OF GREECE Greece was no longer commercial leader of the Mediterranean. ..."

5. The History of Political Parties in the Province of New York, 1760-1776 by Carl Lotus Becker (1909)
"THE RISE AND decline OF THE WHEAT GROWING INDUSTRY IN WISCONSIN CHAPTER I ... the rise and decline of the wheat industry, and in the extent of that decline, ..."

6. A History of Spain: Founded on the Historia de España Y de la Civilización by Charles Edward Chapman (1918)
"Not only that, but a decline also set in which affected Spanish civilization in all its phases. The impetus of Spain's greatness in the sixteenth century ..."

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