Meaning of "decline" in the English dictionary

ETYMOLOGY OF THE WORD DECLINE

From Old French decliner to inflect, turn away, sink, from Latin dēclīnāre to bend away, inflect grammatically.

Etymology is the study of the origin of words and their changes in structure and significance.

PRONUNCIATION OF DECLINE

decline  [dɪˈklaɪn]

GRAMMATICAL CATEGORY OF DECLINE

Decline is a verb and can also act as a noun.

A noun is a type of word the meaning of which determines reality. Nouns provide the names for all things: people, objects, sensations, feelings, etc.

The verb is the part of the sentence that is conjugated and expresses action and state of being.

See the conjugation of the verb decline in English.

WHAT DOES DECLINE MEAN IN ENGLISH?

Decline

Decline involves change over time, for example: ▪ from previously efficient to inefficient organizational functioning ▪ from previously rational to non-rational organizational and individual decision-making ▪ from previously law-abiding to law-violating organizational and individual behavior ▪ from previously virtuous to iniquitous individual moral behavior Note: distinguish the noun decline from the adjective obsolete. Decline refers to the degenerating of something whereas obsolete refers to the outdatedness of something or labels something as no longer in use. Decline represents the process of declining, a gradual sinking and wasting away. Social decline or moral decline is typically characterised as reduced adherence to cultural or social norms or values and widespread lapses in ethical behavior. Compare social decay.

Definition of decline in the English dictionary

The first definition of decline in the dictionary is to refuse to do or accept, esp politely. Other definition of decline is to grow smaller; diminish. Decline is also to slope or cause to slope downwards.

CONJUGATION OF THE VERB TO DECLINE

PRESENT

Present

I decline

you decline

he/she/it declines

we decline

you decline

they decline

Present continuous

I am declining

you are declining

he/she/it is declining

we are declining

you are declining

they are declining

Present perfect

I have declined

you have declined

he/she/it has declined

we have declined

you have declined

they have declined

Present perfect continuous

I have been declining

you have been declining

he/she/it has been declining

we have been declining

you have been declining

they have been declining

Present tense is used to refer to circumstances that exist at the present time or over a period that includes the present time. The present perfect refers to past events, although it can be considered to denote primarily the resulting present situation rather than the events themselves.

PAST

Past

I declined

you declined

he/she/it declined

we declined

you declined

they declined

Past continuous

I was declining

you were declining

he/she/it was declining

we were declining

you were declining

they were declining

Past perfect

I had declined

you had declined

he/she/it had declined

we had declined

you had declined

they had declined

Past perfect continuous

I had been declining

you had been declining

he/she/it had been declining

we had been declining

you had been declining

they had been declining

Past tense forms express circumstances existing at some time in the past,

FUTURE

Future

I will decline

you will decline

he/she/it will decline

we will decline

you will decline

they will decline

Future continuous

I will be declining

you will be declining

he/she/it will be declining

we will be declining

you will be declining

they will be declining

Future perfect

I will have declined

you will have declined

he/she/it will have declined

we will have declined

you will have declined

they will have declined

Future perfect continuous

I will have been declining

you will have been declining

he/she/it will have been declining

we will have been declining

you will have been declining

they will have been declining

The future is used to express circumstances that will occur at a later time.

CONDITIONAL

Conditional

I would decline

you would decline

he/she/it would decline

we would decline

you would decline

they would decline

Conditional continuous

I would be declining

you would be declining

he/she/it would be declining

we would be declining

you would be declining

they would be declining

Conditional perfect

I would have decline

you would have decline

he/she/it would have decline

we would have decline

you would have decline

they would have decline

Conditional perfect continuous

I would have been declining

you would have been declining

he/she/it would have been declining

we would have been declining

you would have been declining

they would have been declining

Conditional or "future-in-the-past" tense refers to hypothetical or possible actions.

IMPERATIVE

Imperative

you decline
we let´s decline
you decline

The imperative is used to form commands or requests.

NONFINITE VERB FORMS

Infinitive

to decline

Past participle

declined

Present Participle

declining

Infinitive shows the action beyond temporal perspective. The present participle or gerund shows the action during the session. The past participle shows the action after completion.

SYNONYMS OF «DECLINE»

The following words have a similar or identical meaning as «decline» and belong to the same grammatical category.

synonyms of decline

abatement · abstain · atrophy · avoid · consumption · contract · decay · declivity · decrease · decrepitude · degenerate · degeneration · deny · depression · descend · descent · deteriorate · deterioration · diminish · diminution · dip · disintegration · downturn · droop · drop · dwindle · dwindling · ebb · enfeeblement · fade · fail · failing · fall · fall off · flag · forgo · hill · incline · languish · lapse · lessen · lessening · lower · phthisis · pine · recession · refuse · reject · retrogression · shrink · sink · slacken · slant · slope · slump · spurn · tuberculosis · turn down · wane · weaken · weakening · worsen · worsening

TRANSLATION OF DECLINE

Find out the translation of decline to 25 languages with our English multilingual translator.

The translations of decline from English to other languages presented in this section have been obtained through automatic statistical translation; where the essential translation unit is the word «decline» in English.

• Translator English - Chinese: 下降
• Translator English - Spanish: disminuir
• English: decline
• Translator English - Hindi: गिरावट
• Translator English - Arabic: انخفاض
• Translator English - Russian: снижение
• Translator English - Portuguese: diminuir
• Translator English - Bengali: পতন
• Translator English - French: baisser
• Translator English - Malay: Penurunan
• Translator English - German: zurückgehen
• Translator English - Japanese: 減退する
• Translator English - Korean: 줄다
• Translator English - Javanese: Kurangé populasi
• Translator English - Vietnamese: giảm
• Translator English - Tamil: சரிவு
• Translator English - Marathi: कमी करा
• Translator English - Turkish: düşüş
• Translator English - Italian: diminuire
• Translator English - Polish: spadek
• Translator English - Ukrainian: зниження
• Translator English - Romanian: declin
• Translator English - Greek: πτώση
• Translator English - Afrikaans: afname
• Translator English - Swedish: minskning
• Translator English - Norwegian: nedgang

10 QUOTES WITH «DECLINE»

Famous quotes and sentences with the word decline.

1

Scott Adams

I respectfully decline the invitation to join your hallucination.

2

Thomas P.M. Barnett

Once Europe's colonial empires were sent into deep decline, thanks to World War II, America became globalization's primary replicating force, integrating Asia into its low-end production networks across the second half of the twentieth century - just like Europe had integrated the U.S. before.

3

Jose Manuel Barroso

The dynamic of globalisation in financial and economic terms, but also in geopolitical terms, confronts Europeans with a stark choice: live together, share a common destiny and count in the world; or face the prospect of disunity and decline.

4

Daniel Boone

In the decline of the day, near Kentucky river, as we ascended the brow of a small hill, a number of Indians rushed out of a thick cane-brake upon us, and made us prisoners.

5

James Buchan

Ever since the destruction of Baghdad by the Mongols in 1258, the Muslim world has been in slow decline relative to the west. With Napoleon's invasion of Egypt and the creeping British annexation of Muslim India, that decline took on a malign aspect.

6

Dan Buettner

Walking is the only way proven to stave off cognitive decline - it works.

7

Luis Bunuel

The decline of the aperitif may well be one of the most depressing phenomena of our time.

8

Jane Byrne

Be assured that I did not become the Mayor of Chicago to preside over its decline.

9

Alastair Campbell

There are many reasons for the decline in royal esteem. One is that so many of the royals are thick.

10

Jim Cooper

Aging nations have arteries clogged with obsolete laws, slowing blood flow and preventing oxygen from reaching all parts of the body politic. Physicians call this arteriosclerosis; historians see decline of empire.

10 ENGLISH BOOKS RELATING TO «DECLINE»

Discover the use of decline in the following bibliographical selection. Books relating to decline and brief extracts from same to provide context of its use in English literature.

Mapping Decline: St. Louis and the Fate of the American City

Mapping Decline, illustrated with more than 75 full-color maps, traces the ways private real estate restrictions, local planning and zoning, federal housing policies, and urban renewal encouraged "white flight" and urban decline in St. ...

Colin E. Gordon, 2008

Exit, Voice, and Loyalty: Responses to Decline in Firms, ...

Albert O. Hirschman makes a basic distinction between alternative ways of reacting to deterioration in business firms and, in general, to dissatisfaction with organizations: one, “exit,” is for the member to quit the organization or for ...

Albert O. Hirschman, 1970

The Decline of the West

Spengler's work describes how we have entered into a centuries-long "world-historical" phase comparable to late antiquity, and his controversial ideas spark debate over the meaning of historiography.

Oswald Spengler, Helmut Werner, Charles Francis Atkinson, 1991

The Decline and Fall of Practically Everybody

" The book eventually went through eighteen hardcover printings and ten foreign editions, proof of its impeccable accuracy and deadly, imperishable humor.

Will Cuppy, 2008

The Great American Crime Decline

Casting a critical and unerring eye on current explanations, this book demonstrates that both long-standing theories of crime prevention and recently generated theories fall far short of explaining the 1990s drop.

Wolfen Distinguished Scholar Franklin E. Zimring William G. Simon Professor of Law, and Director of the Earl Warren Legal Institute University of California Berkeley, 2006

THE DECLINE AND FALL OF THE AMERICAN REPUBLIC

Suggests that the power of the American presidency has increased over the last fifty years, threatening the the constitutional balance of the three branches, a situation that the author feels must be remedied.

Bruce Ackerman, 2010

English Culture and the Decline of the Industrial Spirit, ...

Drawing upon a wide array of sources, Martin Wiener explores the English ambivalence to modern industrial society.

Martin J. Wiener, 2004

The Decline of Constitutional Democracy in Indonesia

This is an intensive study of Indonesian politics from the attainment of full independence in December 1949 to the proclamation of martial law in March 1957, and President Soekarno's subsequent establishment of "guided democracy.

Herbert Feith, 2006

Voices of Decline: The Postwar Fate of U.S. Cities

[FOR HISTORY CATALOGS]Drawing on the pronouncements of public commentators, this book portrays the 20th century history of U.S. cities, focusing specifically on how commentators crafted a discourse of urban decline and prosperity peculiar ...

Robert A. Beauregard, 2003

The Rise and Decline of Nations: Economic Growth, ...

"--Scott Gordon, The Canadian Journal of Economics"The thesis of this brilliant book is that the longer a society enjoys political stability, the more likely it is to develop powerful special-interest lobbies that in turn make it less ...

Mancur Olson, 2008

10 NEWS ITEMS WHICH INCLUDE THE TERM «DECLINE»

Find out what the national and international press are talking about and how the term decline is used in the context of the following news items.

Stroke may accelerate long-term cognitive decline

Stroke is associated with cognitive decline in the weeks immediately following the event, but a new study shows that the impact of stroke could ... «Medical News Today, Jul 15»

Apple, ad blockers and the decline of the mobile Web

Apple, ad blockers and the decline of the mobile Web. by; Philip Elmer-DeWitt · @philiped. July 8, 2015, 11:16 AM EDT. E-mail; Tweet; Facebook; Google Plus ... «Fortune, Jul 15»

Stocks decline on worries about China and Greece

Last Updated Jul 8, 2015 1:23 PM EDT. U.S. stocks fell sharply on Wednesday as a rout in Chinese equities heightened concerns about the ... «CBS News, Jul 15»

Offaly hurling: A glorious rise and sad decline

... will no doubt hope that future Offaly stars will emerge but it may take time. The decline that has beset the county must be properly addressed. «RTE.ie, Jul 15»

Marriage decline: record number in England and Wales have never …

Are all the good ones really married? Not according to new data which shows that more people in England and Wales have never wed than at ... «The Guardian, Jul 15»

Wild fish ecosystems may be masking serious rapid decline in fish …

This resistance to change in wild fish ecosystems may be masking a more serious decline in production potential in situations where ... «Phys.Org, Jul 15»

MidEast Shares Mostly Decline, Egypt Slides to 15-Month Low

Egypt is getting hit by foreign exchange and energy shortages, the central bank's decision to resume depreciating the Egyptian pound, fears ... «Nasdaq, Jul 15»

Sugar futures decline on ample stocks and persistent supplies

NEW DELHI: Sugar prices were down by 0.66 per cent to trade at multi-year low of Rs 2,115 per quintal in futures trade today after traders ... «Economic Times, Jul 15»

TSX Down 59 Points; Rally in Miners Limits Decline

The TSX lost 59 points so far after opening lower as expected. All sectors were in the red, except for mining, which gained significantly on the ... «Nasdaq, Jul 15»

Pakistan witnesses noticeable decline in polio cases: UNICEF

The country has seen a major fall in polio cases this year, according to reports that cited the World Health Organisation stating a decline of over ... «Daily News & Analysis, Jul 15»