- decline
- {{Roman}}I.{{/Roman}} nounADJECTIVE▪ catastrophic, considerable, dramatic, drastic, large, major, marked, massive, serious, severe, significant, substantial▪ precipitous, sharp, steep▪ rapid, sudden▪ gentle, modest, slight▪ gradual, slow▪ continuing, progressive, steady, sustained▪
a steady decline in manufacturing
▪ general, long-term, overall▪ absolute, inevitable, inexorable, irreversible, terminal▪an industry in terminal decline
▪ economic, industrial, moral, political, urban▪the moral decline of the nation
▪ mental, physical▪ population, price▪ national▪ seasonal▪ age-relatedVERB + DECLINE▪ experience, fall into, go into, suffer▪The cloth trade went into gradual decline.
▪ cause, lead to▪The increased price of gold led to the decline of his business.
▪ arrest, halt, stem, stop▪We must halt this decline in standards.
▪ slow▪ prevent▪ reverse▪ offset▪ accelerate, hasten▪ see, witness▪We have seen a sharp decline in educational standards over recent years.
▪ lament▪They lament the decline of old-fashioned communities.
DECLINE + VERB▪ occur▪Most of the decline occurred in the 1990s.
▪ beginPREPOSITION▪ in decline▪The industry is still in decline.
▪ on the decline▪His career has been on the decline for some years now.
▪ decline in▪a steep decline in sales
▪ decline of▪the decline of small farming communities
PHRASES▪ the decline and fall of sth▪{{Roman}}II.{{/Roman}}the decline and fall of a great civilization
verb1 become smaller/weakerADVERB▪ considerably, dramatically, drastically, markedly, sharply, significantly, steeply, substantially▪The economy has declined sharply in recent years.
▪ somewhat▪ a little, slightly, etc.▪ fast, quickly, rapidly▪The market for these products is declining fast.
▪ steadily▪ gradually, slowly▪ furtherPREPOSITION▪ by▪Profits declined by 6% this year.
▪ from, to▪The number of full-time staff has declined from 300 to just 50.
PHRASES▪ decline in importance, numbers, size, etc.▪This section of the market has slowly declined in importance.
2 refuseADVERB▪ politely, respectfullyDecline is used with these nouns as the subject: ↑asset, ↑attendance, ↑catch, ↑confidence, ↑consumption, ↑demand, ↑density, ↑economy, ↑employment, ↑enrolment, ↑fortune, ↑income, ↑index, ↑industry, ↑inequality, ↑investment, ↑market, ↑morale, ↑number, ↑percentage, ↑popularity, ↑population, ↑productivity, ↑profit, ↑proportion, ↑rate, ↑receipt, ↑return, ↑sale, ↑size, ↑standing, ↑stock, ↑strength, ↑tourism, ↑trade, ↑unemployment, ↑value, ↑yieldDecline is used with these nouns as the object: ↑comment, ↑invitation, ↑noun, ↑offer, ↑participation, ↑per cent, ↑point, ↑request
Collocations dictionary. 2013.
