What does decline mean?
Word: Decline
Part of Speech: Verb
Meaning: Decline means to say no politely to an offer or invitation. It also means to become smaller, fewer or weaker.
Synonyms: refuse, reject, fall
Antonyms: rise
How do you spell decline?
Syllables: de - cline
Tricky part: After de comes a c, not an s, even though it sounds like s.
Watch out for: desline, dekline
Memory tip: Decline starts the way decide and decimal do: de, then a c that says s.
Decline in a sentence
Example 1: Mia politely declined a second helping of pudding.
Example 2: The number of sparrows in our city has declined over the years.
Example 3: He declined the invitation because his exams began the next day.
Fun Fact
In grammar lessons, Latin nouns are said to be declined: their endings change for each job they do in a sentence.
Practise the CREST Way
Mingle-Mangle
Form a meaningful word from the jumbled letters:
nicleed
a) incline
b) decline
c) deceive
d) recline
Show answer
b) decline. Recline and incline have no d, and deceive has no l.
Word Connection
Choose the antonym of the word:
decline
a) postpone
b) question
c) ignore
d) accept
Show answer
d) accept. To accept an invitation is to say yes, the opposite of declining it.
Word Cookie
Insert the correct pair of letters to form a word:
decl_n_
a) i, a
b) e, e
c) i, e
d) y, e
Show answer
c) i, e. Cline rhymes with line and is spelt the same way at the end.
Spell-o-Spell
Choose the correctly spelt word:
a) invitasion
b) appologise
c) decline
d) politley
Show answer
c) decline. Apologise has one p, invitation ends in tion, and politely is polite plus ly.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Sales of umbrellas decline in the dry months. What happens?
a) fewer umbrellas are sold
b) more umbrellas are sold
c) umbrellas change colour
d) umbrellas grow bigger
Show answer
a) fewer umbrellas are sold
2. Which reply politely declines an offer?
a) I will take the whole box home.
b) Yes, please, I would love some.
c) No, thank you, I have had enough.
d) Could I have two more, please?
Show answer
c) No, thank you, I have had enough.
