decline

Decline is part of the Academic Word List. It is important for students in college and university.

Pronunciation

• (US) IPA: /dəˈklɑɪn/
•  Audio (US)^{help, file}

Verb

Plain form decline

Third-person singular declines

Past tense declined

Past participle declined

Present participle declining

1. (intransitive) If something declines, it goes down in number, quality, slope, or value.

   The Australian dollar has declined 3% against the Euro.

   The number of students studying foreign languages continues to decline.

2. (transitive & intransitive) If someone declines an offer, they do not accept it.

   We asked Josh to come with us to the restaurant, but he declined.

Synonyms

• decrease
• reduce

Antonyms

• incline
• increase

Noun

Singular decline

Plural declines

1. A decline happens when the number, quality, slope, or value of something goes down.

   There has been a 3% decline in the Australian dollar against the Euro.

   Every year we see a larger decline in the number of students studying foreign languages.

2. A decline is a hill or line that goes down.

   The truck crashed after picking up too much speed on the decline.

Synonyms

• decrease
• reduction

Antonyms

• incline
• increase