Decline

Decline
Decline De*cline", v. t. 1. To bend downward; to bring down; to depress; to cause to bend, or fall. [1913 Webster]

In melancholy deep, with head declined. --Thomson. [1913 Webster]

And now fair Phoebus gan decline in haste His weary wagon to the western vale. --Spenser. [1913 Webster]

2. To cause to decrease or diminish. [Obs.] ``You have declined his means.'' --Beau. & Fl. [1913 Webster]

He knoweth his error, but will not seek to decline it. --Burton. [1913 Webster]

3. To put or turn aside; to turn off or away from; to refuse to undertake or comply with; reject; to shun; to avoid; as, to decline an offer; to decline a contest; he declined any participation with them. [1913 Webster]

Could I Decline this dreadful hour? --Massinger. [1913 Webster]

4. (Gram.) To inflect, or rehearse in order the changes of grammatical form of; as, to decline a noun or an adjective. [1913 Webster]

Note: Now restricted to such words as have case inflections; but formerly it was applied both to declension and conjugation. [1913 Webster]

After the first declining of a noun and a verb. --Ascham. [1913 Webster]

5. To run through from first to last; to repeat like a schoolboy declining a noun. [R.] --Shak. [1913 Webster]


The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.

Игры ⚽ Нужен реферат?
Synonyms:

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Decline — De*cline , n. [F. d[ e]clin. See {Decline}, v. i.] 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 …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Decline — is a change over time 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… …   Wikipedia

  • Decline — De*cline , v. i. [imp. & p. p. {Declined}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Declining}.] [OE. declinen to bend down, lower, sink, decline (a noun), F. d[ e]cliner to decline, refuse, fr. L. declinare to turn aside, inflect (a part of speech), avoid; de + clinare …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • decline — vb Decline, refuse, reject, repudiate, spurn are comparable when they mean to turn away something or someone by not consenting to accept, receive, or consider it or him. Decline is the most courteous of these terms and is used chiefly in respect… …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • decline — [n1] lessening abatement, backsliding, comedown, cropper*, decay, decrepitude, degeneracy, degeneration, descent, deterioration, devolution, diminution, dissolution, dive, downfall, downgrade, downturn, drop, dwindling, ebb, ebbing, enfeeblement …   New thesaurus

  • decline — [dē klīn′, diklīn′] vi. declined, declining [ME declinen < OFr decliner, to bend, turn aside < L declinare, to bend from, inflect < de , from (see DE ) + clinare, to bend: see LEAN1] 1. to bend, turn, or slope downward or aside 2. a) …   English World dictionary

  • decline — I noun abatement, act of crumbling, act of dwindling, act of falling away, act of lessening, act of losing ground, act of shrinking, act of slipping back, act of wasting away, act of weakening, act of worsening, atrophy, backward step, cheapening …   Law dictionary

  • décliné — ⇒DÉCLINÉ, ÉE, part. passé et adj. I. Part. passé de décliner1. II. Adj. Qui s écarte d une direction donnée. A. [En parlant d un astre] Qui retombe après avoir atteint son point culminant. Les feux des soleils déclinés (RÉGNIER, Prem. poèmes,… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • décliné — décliné, ée (dé kli né, née) part. passé. 1°   Fléchi suivant les règles de la déclinaison. Un mot décliné. 2°   Terme de procédure. Dont on n accepte pas la compétence. Cette juridiction déclinée par les parties.    Par extension, refusé. Une… …   Dictionnaire de la Langue Française d'Émile Littré

  • decline — ► VERB 1) become smaller, weaker, or less in quality or quantity. 2) politely refuse. 3) (especially of the sun) move downwards. 4) Grammar form (a noun, pronoun, or adjective) according to case, number, and gender. ► NOUN ▪ a gradual and… …   English terms dictionary

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”