¹ / dI5klaIn; dI`klaIn/ v
[I, Tn, Tt] say `no' to (sth); refuse (sth offered), usu politely 拒绝（接受某物）; （通常指）谢绝: I invited her to join us, but she declined. 我邀请她和我们在一起, 可是她婉言谢绝了. * decline an invitation to dinner 谢绝宴请 * He declined to discuss his plans. 他拒绝讨论他的计划.
[I] become smaller, weaker, fewer, etc; diminish 变小; 变弱; 变少: Her influence declined after she lost the election. 她落选後其影响力大为降低. * a declining birth-rate 逐渐下降的出生率 * declining sales 销售量下降 * He spent his declining years (ie those at the end of his life) in the country. 他在乡村度过晚年.
(grammar) (a) [Tn] vary the endings of (nouns and pronouns) according to their function in a sentence 改变（名词和代词）的词尾（根据其在句中的作用）. (b) [I] (of nouns and pronouns) vary in this way （指名词和代词）按此方式变化.