Declining

How to spell declining

9 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce declining

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does declining mean?

1. verbBecoming gradually smaller, weaker, or fewer over time.
2. verbPolitely turning down an offer, request, or invitation.

Declining in a sentence

• The company's profits have been declining for three quarters running.

• She sent a short note declining the dinner invitation.

• A declining membership forced the club to cut its costs.

• He kept declining the promotion because of the extra travel involved.

Where does declining come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word traces back to the Latin verb declinare, which combined de- meaning 'down' or 'away' with clinare meaning 'to lean' or 'to bend'. Literally it described something leaning or bending downward, and from that physical image grew the senses of turning aside and falling off. English took it through Old French decliner in the 1300s, at first in the sense of bending away or deviating, and later in the familiar meanings of growing smaller and of politely refusing. The clin root is a productive one: it also sits inside 'incline' (to lean toward), 'recline' (to lean back), and even 'climate' (originally a slope of the earth). Knowing that the middle is the leaning root clin, not 'cline' with a stray vowel, helps fix the spelling.

How the word is built

• de- (down, away)
• clin (from Latin clinare: to lean, bend)
• -ing (present participle)