| 释义 |
WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2024de•cline /dɪˈklaɪn/USA pronunciation v., -clined, -clin•ing, n. v. - to deny consent (to do);
refuse: [no obj]:I asked her over, but she declined.[~ + object]He declined our invitation.[ ~ + to + verb]:He declined to say how he would vote. - [no obj] to slope or incline downward:The hill declines sharply at this point.
- [no obj] to fail in strength or health;
deteriorate:His health is declining. - [no obj] to become less;
diminish:to decline in popularity.
n. - a downward slope;
drop;
downgrade:[countable]There's a sharp decline in the road up ahead. - a downward movement, such as of prices or population:[countable]a decline in the stock market.
- a deterioration, such as in strength:[countable]a sudden decline in his health.
- progress downward or toward the close or end of something:[uncountable]Prices are in decline.
de•clin•er, n. [countable]de•clin•ing, adj. [before a noun]:declining stock market prices. WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2024de•cline (di klīn′),USA pronunciation v., -clined, -clin•ing, n. v.t. - to withhold or deny consent to do, enter into or upon, etc.;
refuse:He declined to say more about it. - to express inability or reluctance to accept;
refuse with courtesy:to decline an invitation; to decline an offer. - to cause to slope or incline downward.
- Grammar
- Grammarto inflect (a noun, pronoun, or adjective), as Latin puella, declined puella, puellae, puellae, puellam, puella in the five cases of the singular.
- Grammarto recite or display all or some subset of the inflected forms of a noun, pronoun, or adjective in a fixed order.
v.i. - to express courteous refusal;
refuse:We sent him an invitation but he declined. - to bend or slant down;
slope downward;
descend:The hill declines to the lake. - (of pathways, routes, objects, etc.) to follow a downward course or path:The sun declined in the skies.
- to draw toward the close, as the day.
- to fail in strength, vigor, character, value, etc.;
deteriorate. - to fail or dwindle;
sink or fade away:to decline in popularity. - to descend, as to an unworthy level;
stoop. - Grammarto be characterized by declension.
n. - a downward slope;
declivity. - a downward movement, as of prices or population;
diminution:a decline in the stock market. - a failing or gradual loss, as in strength, character, power, or value;
deterioration:the decline of the Roman Empire. - a gradual deterioration of the physical powers, as in later life or in disease:After his seventieth birthday he went into a decline.
- progress downward or toward the close, as of the sun or the day.
- the later years or last part:He became an editor in the decline of his life.
- Old French, derivative of decliner
- Latin dēclīnāre to slope, incline, bend; compare Greek klí̄nein to lean1; (noun, nominal) Middle English declin
- Old French: to inflect, turn aside, sink
- (verb, verbal) Middle English declinen 1275–1325
- 1.See corresponding entry in Unabridged reject. See refuse 1.
- 9.See corresponding entry in Unabridged degenerate, decay, weaken, diminish, languish.
- 13.See corresponding entry in Unabridged hill.
- 15.See corresponding entry in Unabridged retrogression, degeneration, enfeeblement, weakening.
- 6.See corresponding entry in Unabridged rise.
- 9.See corresponding entry in Unabridged improve.
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