DECLINE, DECLINING (decrease)
ADJECTIVES
1791 ► DECIDUOUS sinking, declining → obs. rare
1893 ► DECLINANT declining
1881 ► DECLIVATE descending; declining; inclining downward
1943 ► ON THE DOWNBEAT in decline; losing popularity → Amer. sl.
NOUNS
– BACK-GAIN a decline, consumption …Bk1898 Sc.
– DECIDENCE falling off in strength, vigour, etc.; decline, a becoming worse …1684 obs.
– DECLENSION the state of declining or sinking into a lower of inferior condition; gradual diminution, deterioration, or decay; decline …1602
– DECLINATION the gradual falling off from a condition of prosperity or vigour; decline; decay …1533 obs.
– FAIL decline …1898 Sc.
– LAST OF PEA-TIME the time when peas have almost ceased bearing; hence, a state of decline, exhaustion, or poverty …1834 Amer. dial.
– NAIL IN ONE’S COFFIN a stage in one’s decline …E19 sl.
– OFF-FALLING a decline, a falling off, as in health and appearance, or in morals; a deterioration …1825 Sc.
VERBS
1388 ► FADE to grow small or weak; to decline, decay, fail, or faint; to shrink → obs.
1400 ► FAINT to become faint; to grow weak or feeble, to decline → obs. exc. poetic
1530 ► FAG to flag, to droop, to decline; to fall off, to swerve from → obs.
1873 ► GO THE BACKWAY to decline, to fall off after coming to perfection → Eng. dial.
Lexicophilia 