noun · 8 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.
/dɪˈklɛn.ʃən/
Southern-England:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
CMU ARPABET:D AH0 K L EH1 N SH AH0 N
Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
1
noun
Meaning 1
A falling off, decay or descent.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: countable, uncountable
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
2
noun
Meaning 2
The act of declining a word; the act of listing the inflections of a noun, pronoun or adjective in order.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
In Latin, 'amicus' belongs to the second declension. Most second-declension nouns end in '-i' in the genitive singular and '-um' in the accusative singular.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
5
noun
Meaning 5
a class of nouns or pronouns or adjectives in Indo-European languages having the same (or very similar) inflectional forms
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
Examples
the first declension in Latin
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: class, category, family
6
noun
Meaning 6
a downward slope or bend
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.