declension

noun

de·​clen·​sion di-ˈklen(t)-shən 

1

a

: noun, adjective, or pronoun inflection especially in some prescribed order of the forms

b

: a class of nouns or adjectives having the same type of inflectional forms

2

: a falling off or away : deterioration

3

: descent, slope

declensional

di-ˈklen(t)-shə-nᵊl 

adjective

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The Evolution of Declension

Declension came into English (via Middle French) in the first half of the 15th century, originating in the Latin verb declinare, meaning "to inflect" or "to turn aside." The word seems to have whiled away its time in the narrow field of grammar until Shakespeare put a new sense of the word in his play Richard III in 1593: "A beauty-waning and distressed widow / … Seduc'd the pitch and height of his degree / To base declension and loath'd bigamy." This "deterioration" sense led within a few decades to the newest sense of the word still in common use, "descent" or "slope." The 19th century saw still another new sense of the word—meaning "a courteous refusal"—but that sense has remained quite rare.

Synonyms

• debilitation
• decay
• decaying
• decline
• degeneration
• descent
• deterioration
• ebbing
• enfeeblement
• weakening

Examples of declension in a Sentence

a noticeable declension of the fitness of the baseball players over the winter

a declension in her acting career from leading roles to cameos eventually

Recent Examples on the Web

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

The same time span felt faster, like an explosion rather than like a declension. —Adam Gopnik, The New Yorker, 7 June 2021

One time, when Joyce was memorizing Latin declension, Bill Bradley of the Knicks took notice. —Katherine Fitzgerald, The Arizona Republic, 18 July 2021

The experience of the pandemic was made ghastlier by being placed against the declension of Trumpism from evil to absurdity—who will ever forget Four Seasons Total Landscaping?—and then back into even darker evil again. —Adam Gopnik, The New Yorker, 31 Dec. 2020

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

Word History

Etymology

Middle English declenson, modification of Middle French declinaison, from Latin declination-, declinatio grammatical inflection, turning aside, from declinare to inflect, turn aside

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

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Kids Definition

declension

noun

de·​clen·​sion di-ˈklen-chən 

1

a

: the giving of noun, adjective, or pronoun inflections especially in a specified order

b

: a class of nouns or adjectives having the same type of inflectional forms

2

: decline entry 2 sense 1, deterioration

3

: descent sense 4a, slope

declensional

-ˈklench-nəl 

-klen-chən-ᵊl

adjective