decline
• verb 1 become smaller, weaker, or less in quality or quantity. 2 politely refuse. 3 (especially of the sun) move downwards. 4 Grammar form (a noun, pronoun, or adjective) according to case, number, and gender. • noun a gradual and continuous loss of strength, numbers, or value. — ORIGIN Latin declinare ‘bend down, turn aside’, from clinare ‘to bend’.
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