decline
Downward movement, fallDownward movement, fall.
» They declined the invitation to our party.
Вони відхилили запрошення на вечірку. — ascolto
CK · Tatoeba · CC BY 2.0 FRMeaning
5 senses(countable, uncountable)Downward movement, fall.
The aircraft went into a sudden decline before the pilot regained control.
Sinken, Fall
падениеpadenije
a downward slope or bend
(countable, uncountable)A sloping downward, e.g. of a hill or road.
After taking a right from that turn a decline will come into view.
Gefälle
спускspusk, склонsklon
(countable, uncountable)A deterioration of condition; a weakening or worsening.
He has experienced a sudden decline in his health.
Educational standards are on the decline.
Abnahme, Rückgang, Schwächung
упа́докupádok
зане́падzanépad
(countable, uncountable)A reduction or diminution of activity, prevalence or quantity.
Population decline is a major concern.
Town-centre retailers have seen a decline in footfall.
Entspannung, Nachlassen
спадspad, сниже́ниеsnižénije
спадspad, зни́женняznýžennja
(countable, uncountable)The act of declining or refusing something.
Examples
357 sentencesThey declined the invitation to our party.
Вони відхилили запрошення на вечірку. — ascolto
She declined to say more about it.
Вона відмовилася розказати більше про це. — ChickenKiev
ruОна отказалась сказать об этом больше. — Lenin_1917
I must decline.
Я маю відмовити. — deniko
deIch muss ablehnen. — Yorwba
She declined the invitation.
Вона відхилила запрошення. — deniko
ruОна отклонила приглашение. — Avelesy
deSie lehnte die Einladung ab. — xtofu80
Tom declined to comment.
Том відмовився давати коментарі. — deniko
ruТом отказался от комментариев. — marafon
deTom lehnte einen Kommentar ab. — wolfgangth
Translations
7 languagesBy meaning 2
By meaning 4
By meaning 4
Origin
From Middle English declinen, and ultimately Latin declīnō (“to bend, turn aside, deflect,From Middle English declinen, and ultimately Latin declīnō (“to bend, turn aside, deflect, inflect, decline”, from dē- (“down”) + clīnō (“to bend, to incline”)), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱley- (English lean). The senses arrived from two separate pathways in Middle English:
Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
Forms
plural: declinesSynonyms
8 synonyms- change toward something smaller or lower:diminution
- a condition inferior to an earlier condition; a gradual falling off from a better state; decline:declination
- a gradual decrease; as of stored charge or current:decay
- a downward slope or bend:descentdeclivityfalldeclinationdeclensiondownslope
Antonyms
2 antonymsWord family
5 related wordsLessons for this word
2 lessons- B2Describing graphs and trends — Because the lesson uses it
- A1Countable and uncountable nouns — Because it can be uncountable
See also
neighbours in the dictionaryDictionary text adapted from Wiktionary (Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0) and Open English WordNet / Princeton WordNet (CC BY 4.0, WordNet License); shared under CC BY-SA 4.0. Example sentences and recordings are credited where they appear.