1. to refuse to do or accept [something], esp politely
2. [intr] to grow smaller; diminish: demand has declined over the years.
3. to slope or cause to slope downwards
4. [intr] to deteriorate gradually, as in quality, health, or character
6. gradual deterioration or loss
7. a movement downwards or towards something smaller; diminution
8. a downward slope; declivity
9. [Medicine] archaic any slowly progressive disease, such as tuberculosis
[C14: from Old French decliner to inflect, turn away, sink, from Latin dēclīnāre to bend away, inflect grammatically]
Collins English Dictionary Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
decline
[dɪˈklaɪn]v. -clined, -clining,
n. v.t.
1. to withhold or deny consent to do; refuse.
2. to refuse with courtesy.
3. to cause to slope or incline downward.
4. to recite or display the inflected forms of [a noun, pronoun, or adjective] in a fixed order.
v.i.5. to express usu. courteous refusal.
6. to fail in strength, health, value, etc.; deteriorate.
7. to diminish: to decline in popularity.
8. to slope or sink downward.
9. to draw toward the close, as the day.
10. [of a noun, pronoun, or adjective] to be characterized by declension.
n.11. a downward slope; declivity.
12. a downward movement, as of prices or population: a decline in the stock market.
13. a deterioration, as in strength, power, or value.
14. progress downward or toward the close.
15. the later years or last part: the decline of life.
[12751325; Middle English < Old French decliner to inflect, turn aside, sink < Latin dēclīnāre to slope, incline]
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.