DECLINE in a Sentence

Learn DECLINE from example sentences, some of them are from classic books. These examples are selected from a corpus with 300,000 sentences, including classic works and current mainstream media. Some sentences also link to their contexts.

For DECLINE, below is one of 196 sentences:
She wished to be able to decline it; but the tears, which a variety of feelings created, made it easier to swallow than to speak.

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 Meanings and Examples of DECLINE
Definition Example Sentence Classic Sentence
decline
 v.  change toward something smaller or lower
 n.  gradual falling off from a better state
Classic Sentence: (144 in 10 pages)
1  For instance, they will decline to have folly called wisdom, or any tune danced to but their own.
Dead Souls By Nikolai Gogol
Context  Highlight   In PART 1: CHAPTER IV
2  On the contrary, to show you that I am not a usurer, I will decline to ask of you a single kopeck for the serfs.
Dead Souls By Nikolai Gogol
Context  Highlight   In PART 1: CHAPTER IV
3  Chichikov duly thanked his interlocutor, but continued to decline either the grey horse or the roan mare.
Dead Souls By Nikolai Gogol
Context  Highlight   In PART 1: CHAPTER IV
4  "I must decline the offer," said Chichikov.
Dead Souls By Nikolai Gogol
Context  Highlight   In PART 1: CHAPTER IV
5  Since you decline to rest satisfied with what has been given you, and quietly to await the decision of your case in St. Petersburg, I must find you a lodging.
Dead Souls By Nikolai Gogol
Context  Highlight   In PART 1: CHAPTER X
6  But to decline was out of the question; why, I do believe he'd have struck me, and then.
Fathers and Children By Ivan Turgenev
Context  Highlight   In CHAPTER XXIV
7  To tell them that she felt ashamed for herself and for them would be to betray her agitation, while to decline their offers to dress her would prolong their banter and insistence.
War and Peace 1 By Leo Tolstoy
Context  Highlight   In BOOK 3: CHAPTER III
8  If I decline the honor of being with you, believe me.
War and Peace 4 By Leo Tolstoy
Context  Highlight   In BOOK 10: CHAPTER XVI
9  The officer did not decline, but took the note quietly and thanked her.
War and Peace 4 By Leo Tolstoy
Context  Highlight   In BOOK 11: CHAPTER XXII
10  The approaching riders having descended a decline were no longer visible, but they reappeared a few minutes later.
War and Peace 5 By Leo Tolstoy
Context  Highlight   In BOOK 14: CHAPTER IV
11  Friends and relations advised Nicholas to decline the inheritance.
War and Peace 6 By Leo Tolstoy
Context  Highlight   In BOOK 16: CHAPTER V
12  Apparently he did not think it proper to decline this invitation as he had done the former; for, though his gesture indicated some surprise at the summons, he obeyed it without answer or remonstrance.
Ivanhoe By Walter Scott
Context  Highlight   In CHAPTER VI
13  We therefore decline with thanks your Highness's courteous invitation to the banquet.
Ivanhoe By Walter Scott
Context  Highlight   In CHAPTER IX
14  She wished to be able to decline it; but the tears, which a variety of feelings created, made it easier to swallow than to speak.
Mansfield Park By Jane Austen
Context  Highlight   In CHAPTER VII
15  knows a decline is apprehended; he saw her this morning: she returns to Wimpole Street to-day; the old lady is come.
Mansfield Park By Jane Austen
Context  Highlight   In CHAPTER XLV
Example Sentence: (52 in 4 pages)
16  There has been a decline in the size of families.
17  Notwithstanding a steady decline in numbers, the school has had a very successful year.
18  Dustan has a record of switching sides when convenient, and there are many Taliban supporters who would do likewise if the fortunes of the puritan militia are on the decline.
19  It's part of a long-term ripple effect caused by the decline in auto manufacturing jobs.
20  “Countries like France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Ukraine, and the UK were all essentially flat or even in slight decline,” Telegeography says.
21  Your uncle, I am sorry to say, is now on a sick bed; from which, considering the nature of his disease -- decline -- and the stage it has reached, it is unlikely he will ever rise.
22  High acidity and elevated levels of metals can seriously impair the ability of water bodies to support life, resulting in a decline in species diversity.
23  After a period of gentle decline during the 1990s, net migration to Europe is on the rise again.
24  State industries still dominate the Chinese economy, even though they are in steep decline.
25  Although the signs of decline may not yet be evident on the pitch, Latin American football is in chaos, with financial and administrative problems that make the Europeans' troubles seem trifling.
26  The contrasting story of BlackBerry's decline – its new plan will see it focus on a diminishing niche of business users – is a parable of how quickly modern tastes and technologies can change.
27  They show she has defied a whiff of scandal and predictions of decline, reflecting a revolution in how the fashion industry is responding to women consumers, say commentators.
28  He declined to make projections about fourth quarter earnings.
29  He declined to address the delegates.
30  Grimes is out on bail and his attorney, Martin Goldberg, declined to comment Wednesday.