decline – English verb conjugation

English verb forms of decline

Nominal Forms

Infinitive: to decline
Participle: declined
Gerund: declining

Cognates

-

Indicative

Present

Idecline
youdecline
he;she;itdeclines
wedecline
youdecline
theydecline

Perfect

Ihave declined
youhave declined
he;she;ithas declined
wehave declined
youhave declined
theyhave declined

Past

Ideclined
youdeclined
he;she;itdeclined
wedeclined
youdeclined
theydeclined

Pluperfect

Ihad declined
youhad declined
he;she;ithad declined
wehad declined
youhad declined
theyhad declined

Future

Iwill decline
youwill decline
he;she;itwill decline
wewill decline
youwill decline
theywill decline

Future Perfect

Iwill have declined
youwill have declined
he;she;itwill have declined
wewill have declined
youwill have declined
theywill have declined

Subjunctive

Present

Idecline
youdecline
he;she;itdecline
wedecline
youdecline
theydecline

Perfect

Ihave declined
youhave declined
he;she;ithave declined
wehave declined
youhave declined
theyhave declined

Imperfect

Ideclined
youdeclined
he;she;itdeclined
wedeclined
youdeclined
theydeclined

Pluperfect

Ihad declined
youhad declined
he;she;ithad declined
wehad declined
youhad declined
theyhad declined

Conditional

Present

Iwould decline
youwould decline
he;she;itwould decline
wewould decline
youwould decline
theywould decline

Perfect

Iwould have declined
youwould have declined
he;she;itwould have declined
wewould have declined
youwould have declined
theywould have declined

Imperative

youdecline
weLet's decline
youdecline

Progressive (Continuous) Forms

Indicative

Present

Iam declining
youare declining
he;she;itis declining
weare declining
youare declining
theyare declining

Perfect

Ihave been declining
youhave been declining
he;she;ithas been declining
wehave been declining
youhave been declining
theyhave been declining

Past

Iwas declining
youwere declining
he;she;itwas declining
wewere declining
youwere declining
theywere declining

Pluperfect

Ihad been declining
youhad been declining
he;she;ithad been declining
wehad been declining
youhad been declining
theyhad been declining

Future

Iwill be declining
youwill be declining
he;she;itwill be declining
wewill be declining
youwill be declining
theywill be declining

Future Perfect

Iwill have been declining
youwill have been declining
he;she;itwill have been declining
wewill have been declining
youwill have been declining
theywill have been declining

Conditional

Present

Iwould be declining
youwould be declining
he;she;itwould be declining
wewould be declining
youwould be declining
theywould be declining

Perfect

Iwould have been declining
youwould have been declining
he;she;itwould have been declining
wewould have been declining
youwould have been declining
theywould have been declining

Other

Synonyms & Antonyms

Synonyms

diminish in force or intensity
abate, alleviate, assuage, ebb, mitigate, relax, subside, temper, wane
to become worse
break down, degenerate, deteriorate, devolve, fade, fall off, go bad, go downhill, go off, go to hell, go to pot, go to seed, go to the dogs, lapse, molder, retrograde, shrivel, suffer, worsen, wane, wither
to reject instruction or command
balk, disobey, disregard, ignore, refuse, unmind
to withdraw from a position
back away, back down, balk, beat a retreat, bug out, crawfish, draw back, fall back, pull out, recede, regrade, retire, retreat, retrograde, revert, shrink, sound a retreat, turn tail, withdraw
refuse
repel, avoid, desist, disapprove, deny, dismiss, reject
descend
dip, sag, droop, set, incline, settle, slope
abase
condescend, debase, stoop
weaken
die, cheapen, decay, dwindle, worsen, degenerate, fade, corrode

Antonyms

to be successful
fail, fall, fall on hard times, go downhill, go pear-shaped, go to pot, go to shit, go to the dogs, prosper
to yield to persuasion; to agree to a request or demand
refuse, reject, accede
to give approval
deny, disapprove, disassent, dissent, object, oppose, reject, assent
to collect in an increasing amount over time
decumulate, lose, accumulate
refuse
allow, admit, assent, approve
abase
dignify, exalt, extol, glorify
weaken
strengthen, fortify, empower, energize

Additional Information

Phrasal Verbs

Etymology

1. c.1327, "to turn aside, deviate," from O.Fr. decliner "to bend, turn aside," from L. declinare "to bend from, inflect," from de- "from" + clinare "to bend," from PIE *klei-n-, suffixed form of *klei "to lean" (see lean (v.)). Sense has been altered since 15c. by interpretation of de- as "downward." Meaning "not to consent" is from 1631. Astronomical declination (c.1386) and grammatical declension (1565) are both ult. from L. noun derivative declentio.
2. From Middle English declinen, and ultimately Latin declīnō (“to bend, turn aside, deflect, inflect, decline”, from dē- (“down”) + clīnō (“to bend, to incline”)), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱley- (English lean). The senses arrived from two separate pathways in Middle English:
3. * The grammatical sense came from Old English declīnian, which was borrowed directly from the Latin etymon.
4. * All senses except the grammatical sense were derived from those of Old French decliner. Old French itself borrowed the verb from Latin. See: Middle English 'declinen', Latin 'declīnō'.

Verbs referencing "decline"

Finnish with old forms deklinoida.

Sample Sentences

  • The terrible crowd with which these halls and galleries were filled, so shocked me, that I abridged my stay within the shortest limits, and declined to see that portion of the building in which the refractory and violent were under closer restraint. I have no doubt that the gentleman who presided over this establishment at the time I write of, [...] (American Notes for General Circulation)
  • Being advised that the sensible etiquette of the republican court admitted of a traveller, like myself, declining, without any impropriety, an invitation to dinner, which did not reach me until I had concluded my arrangements for leaving Washington some days before that to which it referred, I only returned to [...] (American Notes for General Circulation)
  • [...] twelve ), the master offered to institute an extemporary examination of the pupils in algebra; a proposal, which, as I was by no means confident of my ability to detect mistakes in that science, I declined with some alarm. In the girls ’ school, reading was proposed; and as I felt tolerably equal to that art, I expressed my willingness to hear a class. Books were distributed accordingly, and some [...] (American Notes for General Circulation)
  • The coachman making no reply, and plainly declining to enter into any controversy on a subject so far removed from his sympathies and feelings, another passenger says, ‘Yes, sir; ’ and the gentleman in the straw hat in acknowledgment of his courtesy, [...] (American Notes for General Circulation)
  • [...] ‘and shoot him down in the street wherever he found him; ’ in the feasibility of which strong measure I, being for the moment rather prone to contradiction, from feeling half asleep and very tired, declined to acquiesce: assuring him that if the uncle did resort to it, or gratified any other little whim of the like nature, he would find himself one morning prematurely throttled at the Old Bailey: and [...] (American Notes for General Circulation)
  • [...] hardening process on both sides,—the owner growing more and more cruel, as the servant more and more callous. Whipping and abuse are like laudanum; you have to double the dose as the sensibilities decline. I saw this very early when I became an owner; and I resolved never to begin, because I did not know when I should stop,—and I resolved, at least, to protect my own moral nature. The consequence is, [...] (Uncle Tom’s Cabin)
  • Eva, after this, declined rapidly; there was no more any doubt of the event; the fondest hope could not be blinded. Her beautiful room was avowedly a sick room; and Miss Ophelia day and night performed the duties of a [...] (Uncle Tom’s Cabin)