0 past simple and past participle of decline --
2 to refuse: --
3 If a noun, pronoun, or adjective declines, it has different forms to show if it is the subject or object, etc. of a verb or if it is singular or plural, etc. If you decline such a word, you list its various forms: --
As a result of the increasingly negative association between the two traits, the variance in wing area declined as selection proceeded.
During the same period, the industry wages as well as profits declined by around the same percentage points.
The proportion of fatal patients admitted in the morning hours declined from 1976-1984 to 1985-2002, although the difference was not significant.
He even offered her a piece of land, she says, which she declined because she was afraid it would cause trouble in the family.
The parasitoids rapidly became firmly established and snout beetle populations declined dramatically.
However, the number taking two or more languages has declined dramatically.
In the 1960s, the labour force in agriculture declined significantly, whereas the total economically active population increased.
Interestingly, the number of students who felt that farming would not be their primary occupation had declined significantly since 1966.
