decline (redirected from declining years)

de·cline  (d-kln)

v. de·clined, de·clin·ing, de·clines

v.intr.

1. To express polite refusal.

2.

a. To slope downward; descend.

b. To bend downward; droop.

3. To degrade or lower oneself; condescend.

4. To deteriorate gradually; fail.

5.

a. To sink, as the setting sun.

b. To draw to a gradual close; wane.

v.tr.

1. To refuse politely: I declined their offer of help. See Synonyms at refuse¹.

2. To cause to slope or bend downward.

3. Grammar To inflect (a noun, a pronoun, or an adjective) for number and case.

n.

1. The process or result of declining, especially a gradual deterioration.

2. A downward movement.

3. The period when something approaches an end.

4. A downward slope; a declivity.

5. A disease that gradually weakens or wastes the body.

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[Middle English declinen, from Old French decliner, from Latin dclnre, to turn away, bend downward, change the form of a word : d-, de- + -clnre, to lean, bend; see klei- in Indo-European roots.]

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de·clina·ble adj.

de·cliner n.

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decline

Verb

[-clining, -clined]

1. to become smaller, weaker, or less important

2. to politely refuse to accept or do (something)

3. Grammar to list the inflections of (a noun, pronoun, or adjective)

Noun

a gradual weakening or loss [Latin declinare to bend away]

Thesaurus

Noun	1.	decline - change toward something smaller or lower diminution decrease, decrement - a process of becoming smaller or shorter decline in quality, worsening, declension, deterioration - process of changing to an inferior state detumescence - diminution of swelling; the subsidence of anything swollen ebb, ebbing, wane - a gradual decline (in size or strength or power or number) erosion - a gradual decline of something; "after the accounting scandal there was an erosion of confidence in the auditors" loss - gradual decline in amount or activity; "weight loss"; "a serious loss of business" nosedive - a sudden sharp drop or rapid decline; "the stock took a nosedive" sinking spell - a temporary decline in health or value slippage - decline from a standard level of performance or achievement
	2.	decline - a condition inferior to an earlier condition; a gradual falling off from a better state declination condition, status - a state at a particular time; "a condition (or state) of disrepair"; "the current status of the arms negotiations" disuse, neglect - the state of something that has been unused and neglected; "the house was in a terrible state of neglect" twilight - a condition of decline following successes; "in the twilight of the empire" wreck - something or someone that has suffered ruin or dilapidation; "the house was a wreck when they bought it"; "thanks to that quack I am a human wreck" melioration, improvement - a condition superior to an earlier condition; "the new school represents a great improvement"
	3.	decline - a gradual decrease; as of stored charge or current decay decrease, decrement - a process of becoming smaller or shorter exponential decay, exponential return - a decrease that follows an exponential function
	4.	decline - a downward slope or bend declivity, downslope, declination, declension, fall, descent downhill - the downward slope of a hill incline, slope, side - an elevated geological formation; "he climbed the steep slope"; "the house was built on the side of a mountain" steep - a steep place (as on a hill)
Verb	1.	decline - grow worse; "Conditions in the slum worsened" worsen inflame - become inflamed; get sore; "His throat inflamed" sicken, come down - get sick; "She fell sick last Friday, and now she is in the hospital" degenerate, deteriorate, devolve, drop - grow worse; "Her condition deteriorated"; "Conditions in the slums degenerated"; "The discussion devolved into a shouting match" change state, turn - undergo a transformation or a change of position or action; "We turned from Socialism to Capitalism"; "The people turned against the President when he stole the election" impoverish, deprive - take away fail - get worse; "Her health is declining" tumble - suffer a sudden downfall, overthrow, or defeat drop away, fall away, slip, drop off - get worse; "My grades are slipping" suffer - get worse; "His grades suffered" lose, suffer - be set at a disadvantage; "This author really suffers in translation" retrogress, regress, retrograde - get worse or fall back to a previous condition turn down - take a downward direction; "The economy finally turned down after a long boom"
	2.	decline - refuse to accept; "He refused my offer of hospitality" pass up, turn down, refuse, reject freeze off, spurn, pooh-pooh, disdain, scorn, turn down, reject - reject with contempt; "She spurned his advances" dishonor, dishonour - refuse to accept; "dishonor checks and drafts" bounce - refuse to accept and send back; "bounce a check"
	3.	decline - show unwillingness towards; "he declined to join the group on a hike" refuse react, respond - show a response or a reaction to something freeze off, spurn, pooh-pooh, disdain, scorn, turn down, reject - reject with contempt; "She spurned his advances" contract out - refuse to pay a levy to a union for political use regret - decline formally or politely; "I regret I can't come to the party" repudiate - refuse to recognize or pay; "repudiate a debt" disobey - refuse to go along with; refuse to follow; be disobedient; "He disobeyed his supervisor and was fired"
	4.	decline - grow smaller; "Interest in the project waned" wane, go down decrease, diminish, lessen, fall - decrease in size, extent, or range; "The amount of homework decreased towards the end of the semester"; "The cabin pressure fell dramatically"; "her weight fell to under a hundred pounds"; "his voice fell to a whisper" dip - go down momentarily; "Prices dipped" wear on - pass slowly (of time); "The day wore on" drop - go down in value; "Stock prices dropped"
	5.	decline - go down; "The roof declines here" drop - to fall vertically; "the bombs are dropping on enemy targets" sink, dip - appear to move downward; "The sun dipped below the horizon"; "The setting sun sank below the tree line"
	6.	decline - go down in value; "the stock market corrected"; "prices slumped" slump, correct come down, descend, go down, fall - move downward and lower, but not necessarily all the way; "The temperature is going down"; "The barometer is falling"; "The curtain fell on the diva"; "Her hand went up and then fell again"
	7.	decline - inflect for number, gender, case, etc., "in many languages, speakers decline nouns, pronouns, and adjectives" inflect - change the form of a word in accordance as required by the grammatical rules of the language

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decline

verb 1. fall, fail, drop, contract, lower, sink, flag, fade, shrink, diminish, decrease, slow down, fall off, dwindle, lessen, wane, ebb, slacken << OPPOSITE rise

verb 2. deteriorate, fade, weaken, pine, decay, worsen, lapse, languish, degenerate, droop << OPPOSITE improve

verb 3. refuse, reject, turn down, avoid, deny, spurn, abstain, forgo, send your regrets, say `no' << OPPOSITE accept

noun 4. depression, recession, slump, falling off, downturn, dwindling, lessening, diminution, abatement << OPPOSITE rise

noun 5. deterioration, fall, failing, slump, weakening, decay, worsening, descent, downturn, disintegration, degeneration, atrophy, decrepitude, retrogression, enfeeblement << OPPOSITE improvement

Translations

decline [dɪˈklaɪn] n → decaimiento, decadencia (= lessening); disminución f

vt → rehusar

vi → decaer; disminuir;

decline in living standards → disminución f del nivel de vida;

to decline to do sth → rehusar hacer algo

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decline [dɪˈklaɪn] n (= decay) → déclin m (= lessening); baisse f

vt → refuser, décliner

vi → décliner; [business] → baisser;

decline in living standards → baisse du niveau de vie;

to decline to do sth → refuser (poliment) de faire qch

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decline [dɪˈklaɪn] n → Rückgang m;

(decay) → Verfall m

vt → ablehnen

vi (strength) → nachlassen;

(business) → zurückgehen;

(old person) → abbauen;

decline in/of → Rückgang m +gen;

decline in living standards → Sinken nt des Lebensstandards

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decline [dɪˈklaɪn] n (= decay) → declino (= lessening); ribasso

vt → declinare; rifiutare

vi → declinare; diminuire;

decline in living standards → abbassamento del tenore di vita;

to decline to do sth → rifiutar(si) di fare qc

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decline

v decline [diˈklain]

1 to say `no' to (an invitation etc); to refuse We declined his offer of a lift. weier, van die hand wys, afwys يَرْفُض отказвам odmítnout afslå ablehnen αρνούμαι rehusar, rechazar ära ütlema رد کردن؛ خودداری کردن kieltäytyä refuser לְסָרֵב मना करना odbiti visszautasít menolak hafna declinare 断わる 거절하다 atsisakyti atteikties; noraidīt enggan afwijzen avslå, si nei til odmawiać recusar a refuza отказываться odmietnuť odkloniti odbiti avböja, tacka nej ปฏิเสธ reddetmek, geri çevirmek 謝絕，拒絕 відмовляти(ся) رسمی اخلاق کے ساتھ انکار کرنا từ chối 谢绝，拒绝

2 to become less strong or less good etc His health has declined recently; Our profits have temporarily declined. afneem, daal, verminder يَضْعُف، يَخورُ отслабвам klesat, upadat svække; forringe; gå ned sich verschlechtern φθίνω, εξασθενίζω disminuir allamäge minema کم شدن؛ کاهش یافتن heikentyä baisser לְהִידַרדֵר क्षीण हो जाना slabiti, opadati gyengül merosot fara aftur, hnigna declinare; diminuire 衰える 쇠하다, 감소하다 blogėti, silpnėti, mažėti pasliktināties; mazināties menurun achteruitgaan gå ned, avta, synke pogorszyć się diminuir a fi în declin идти на убыль upadať, klesať poslabšati se, zmanjšati se smanjiti avta, minska, sjunka แย่ลง düşmek, azalmak 衰落，下降，傾斜 гіршати; зменшуватися انحطاط پزیر ہونا giảm 衰落，下降，倾斜

n

a gradual lessening or worsening (of health, standards, quantity etc) There has been a gradual decline in the birthrate. afname, daling, vermindering تَضاؤُل، إنْحِطاط، ضَعْف، إنْخِفاض западам pokles, úpadek svækkelse; forringelse; nedgang der Rückgang πτώση, παρακμή, φθορά decaimiento, deterioro, descenso tagasiminek کاهش؛ زوال aleneminen, heikkeneminen baisse הִידַרְדֵרוּת पतन, क्षय padati hanyatlás penurunan fall declino; diminuzione 減退 감소, 하락, 감퇴 (su)mažėjimas, silpnėjimas, kritimas pasliktināšanās; pazemināšanās; panīkums kemerosotan achteruitgang nedgang, tilbakegang, fall spadek declínio scădere, declin ухудшение; снижение pokles padec pad avtagande, minskning, nedgång ภาวะตกต่ำ düşüş, gerileme 下降，變壞 занепад; зниження کمی آنا sự sút giảm 下降，变坏