1
as in deterioration
a gradual sinking and wasting away of mind or body
a noticeable declension of the fitness of the baseball players over the winter
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in declination
a change to a lower state or level
a declension in her acting career from leading roles to cameos eventually
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in downhill
a downward slope
from this region to the seacoast there's a gentle declension of the landscape
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of declension
That’s the whole exhibition, and anyone who was expecting this to be a Netflix declension of the Degenerate Art Show, with poor patriarchal Picasso as ritualized scapegoat, can rest easy.
—
Jason Farago, New York Times, 1 June 2023
Haidt follows the same tired declension narrative that his rhetorical forebearers did.
—Vicki Phillips, Forbes, 24 Jan. 2023
One time, when Joyce was memorizing Latin declension, Bill Bradley of the Knicks took notice.
—Katherine Fitzgerald, The Arizona Republic, 18 July 2021
The same time span felt faster, like an explosion rather than like a declension.
—Adam Gopnik, The New Yorker, 7 June 2021
Gender plays an integral role in many languages, from nouns assigned to a specific gender to adjectives changing their declensions based on the noun being described.
—Madhvi Ramani, Smithsonian, 28 Feb. 2018
Jason Farago, New York Times, 1 June 2023
Haidt follows the same tired declension narrative that his rhetorical forebearers did.
—Vicki Phillips, Forbes, 24 Jan. 2023
One time, when Joyce was memorizing Latin declension, Bill Bradley of the Knicks took notice.
—Katherine Fitzgerald, The Arizona Republic, 18 July 2021
The same time span felt faster, like an explosion rather than like a declension.
—Adam Gopnik, The New Yorker, 7 June 2021
Gender plays an integral role in many languages, from nouns assigned to a specific gender to adjectives changing their declensions based on the noun being described.
—Madhvi Ramani, Smithsonian, 28 Feb. 2018
Recent Examples of Synonyms for declension
Noun
-
Over the last decade, the parish began to lose these buildings to age, mold and deterioration.—
Desiree Mathurin
April 28,
Charlotte Observer,
28 Apr. 2026
-
The Swiss Eugen Bleuler, a follower of Kraepelin, replaced the term dementia praecox, which implied hopeless deterioration, with the softer term schizophrenia.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
28 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
The declinations came as the DOJ reassigned and cut prosecutors working on environmental cases.—
Ken B. Morales,
ProPublica,
31 Mar. 2026
-
Federal regulations require special counsels to provide the attorney general with a report that explain prosecution or declination decisions once their work is concluded.—
Jacob Rosen,
CBS News,
23 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Johnson, Shiffrin’s partner and the gold medalist in the downhill, had staked her to a narrow lead.—
Matthew Futterman,
New York Times,
21 Apr. 2026
-
His excellent size-speed combination, and aggressive downhill style creates disruption and turnover chances.—
Eddie Brown,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
17 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
It is anticipated that supervisors will attempt to pull the wool over the eyes of voters, by pretending this measure is a new implementation of term limits instead of a weakening of term limits.—
John Franklin,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
24 Apr. 2026
-
The weakening is mainly attributed to climate change, according to Elipot, speaking in a podcast interview with USA TODAY.—
Doyle Rice,
USA Today,
23 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
The in-flight tests yielded a substantial decline in soot and ice with 100 percent SAF.—
Srishti Gupta,
Interesting Engineering,
29 Apr. 2026
-
Correction-level declines occurred in 71% of those years, versus only 44% in other years.—
Jim Edwards,
Fortune,
29 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Rejoice, campers, Adamson’s, said to be the only South Bay restaurant devoted to the culinary bliss that is the French dip sandwich, has just opened a new location.—
Randy McMullen,
Mercury News,
30 Apr. 2026
-
The setup ranges from a bathtub heaped with ice cubes to a quick dip in a frigid lake or ocean.—
Samantha Agate,
Miami Herald,
30 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
In detectors filled with liquid argon, the decay of this isotope creates signals that can look deceptively similar to the ones scientists are searching for.—
Rupendra Brahambhatt,
Interesting Engineering,
25 Apr. 2026
-
Some formulas can remove surface stains caused by coffee, smoking or wine, while others address tougher stains caused by decay, age or genetics.—
BestReviews,
Chicago Tribune,
24 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
The development solves the long-standing issues of material degradation and leakage (crossover) by re-engineering the iron complex at the molecular level.—
Mrigakshi Dixit,
Interesting Engineering,
27 Apr. 2026
-
Dark glass bottles protect the oil from light degradation, which breaks down the compounds responsible for those benefits.—
Allison Palmer,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
24 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Declension.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/declension. Accessed 1 May. 2026.
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