Definition of decline

< declination

declivitous >

de·cline    (d-kln) KEY 

VERB:
de·clined, de·clin·ing, de·clines
VERB:
intr.

1. To express polite refusal.
2. 1. To slope downward; descend.
   2. To bend downward; droop.
3. To degrade or lower oneself; condescend.
4. To deteriorate gradually; fail.
5. 1. To sink, as the setting sun.
   2. To draw to a gradual close; wane.

VERB:
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.

NOUN:

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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ETYMOLOGY:
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

OTHER FORMS:
de·clina·ble(Adjective), de·cliner(Noun)