decline

B2 · Upper Intermediate Formal

v. to politely say no to an invitation, offer, or request.

v. to refuse to accept or do something, typically in a formal or polite manner.

“I offered him a lift to the station, but he declined because he wanted to walk.”

“The minister declined to comment on the ongoing investigation, citing the need for confidentiality until the final report is published.”

C2 · Proficiency Science Technical · Academic

v. to change the ending of a word to show its grammatical role in a sentence.

v. to inflect a noun, pronoun, or adjective for case, number, or gender.

Español:declinar

“In Latin, you must decline nouns to show if they are the subject or the object.”

“The student struggled to correctly decline the third-declension nouns during the advanced grammar examination.”

B2 · Upper Intermediate Countable noun

n. a gradual decrease in the quality, amount, or importance of something.

n. a gradual and continuous loss of strength, numbers, quality, or value.

“There has been a sharp decline in the price of electric cars recently.”

“The sudden decline in biodiversity within the national park has prompted urgent calls for stricter environmental protections.”

C1 · Advanced Countable noun Formal

n. a physical slope that goes downwards.

n. a downward slope or inclination, such as a hill or a road.

“The road has a steep decline, so drivers should use their brakes carefully.”

“The hikers found the long decline into the valley much harder on their knees than the initial climb had been.”