someone's declining years
decline
noun[ S or U ]
uk /dɪˈklaɪn/ us /dɪˈklaɪn/
B2
when something becomes less in amount, importance, quality, or strength: 衰落；衰弱，衰退
industrial decline工业的衰落
in decline Home cooking seems to be in decline (= not so many people are doing it).
on the decline It is clear that teenage smoking is on the decline.
decline ina decline in the number of unemployed失业人数的下降
go into a decline She seemed to be recovering and then she went into a decline.她的身体似乎开始恢复了，但后来却又变得越来越虚弱。

Thesaurus: synonyms, antonyms, and examples

the fact of getting smaller or becoming less
decreaseThere has been a steady decrease in the number of visitors.
fallA fall in the price of petrol is unlikely.
fall-offThere's been a sharp fall-off in demand for the product since the company's scandal broke.
falling-offThere has been a slight falling-off in public sector employment growth.
The country has been in a very poor economic state ever since the decline of its two major industries.自从这个国家的两大支柱产业衰退后，其经济一直萎靡不振。
My grandmother, as usual, lamented the decline in moral standards in today's society.和往常一样，我奶奶对当今社会世风日下深感痛惜。
The TV series will be axed owing to a decline in popularity.因为收视率下降，这部电视连续剧会被砍掉。
Orders for new ships are rising, after several years of steady decline.新船的订单数量经过几年的持续下降之后开始增加了。
The new manager hoped to reverse the decline in the company's fortunes.新经理希望能够扭转公司江河日下的状况。

SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases

Becoming and making less strong
abate
abatement
adulterant
adulterate
adulterated
be fading away/fastidiom
downtoner
dull
ease
emasculation
enervate
enervating
hedge
melt
relieve
tone something down
totter
tottering
turn to jellyidiom
undimmed

You can also find related words, phrases, and synonyms in the topics:

Becoming and making smaller or less

decline | American Dictionary

decline
verb
us/dɪˈklɑɪn/

declineverb (GO DOWN)

[ I ]
to go down in amount or quality; lessen or weaken:
His interest in the project declined after his wife died.
Her health declined quickly.

declineverb (REFUSE)

[ I/T ]
to refuse something:
[ T ]She declined their job offer.
decline
noun[ C/U ]
us/dɪˈklɑɪn/

declinenoun[C/U] (GOING DOWN)

a change to a lower amount; the process of becoming less in quality or strength:
[ Cusually sing ]Unemployment increased this month after a modest decline.
[ U ]Civilization is in decline.

decline | Business English

decline
verb[ I ]
uk /dɪˈklaɪn/us
to become less, worse, or lower in value:
Milk production could decline by 15% or more in the late summer months.
declining prices/profits/sales/interest rates
Even though interest rates could decline further, they are now near their lowest point.
decline sharply/rapidly/dramatically
decline gradually/steadily/slowly
Among economists, the widespread view is that the dollar will keep declining.
to make less profit, or produce less:
a declining economy/industry/marketThe plan will reduce profits for the declining commercial fishing industry.
decline
noun[ C or U ]
uk /dɪˈklaɪn/us
a reduction in the value or amount of something, for example a currency or sales:
If sustained, the yen's 12.5% decline against the dollar this month may damp inflation across the region.
A quarter of manufacturers reported a decline in production.
The housing industry experienced a decline in sales.
a rapid/sharp/steep/marked decline
a slight/slow/gradual decline
a situation in which a company, country, or financial market gradually becomes less valuable, makes less profit, or produces less:
Further economic decline might provoke spontaneous popular protest.
Little was being done to reverse the decline in the town's tourist economy.
The industry has been in decline for decades.

Examples of decline

decline
Decline in soil organic carbon and total nitrogen in relation to tillage, stubble management and rotation.
The sources do not each contain a distinct stage in an organic process of growth, development, and decline.
This represents a decline of 17.6 percentage points.
In terms of recreation, culture, education, and even rural industries, the period was characterised as much by development and change as by stagnation and decline.
Technical regulation and enforcement may have actually declined in effectiveness until recent reforms were implemented.
Its decline would give a much-needed boost to output and to technical progress.
The decline in residence with children was most rapid during the period from 1940 to 1980, when more than half the total change took place.
The relationship between age and depressive symptoms in late life : the importance of declining health and increasing disability.
Then, the number of new cases declined quickly.
In many cases, these measures declined substantially with relatively small increases in genetic distance.
Yet, over time, these facilitating effects declined substantially.
At the same time, the two major parties suffered a devastating decline in parliamentary strength.
The decline of this old economy is only part of the story.
Repeated failures of this nature may ultimately result in decay of the irrigation system and subsequent decline of the local economy.
It is unlikely that this heralds a decline in the total fertility of these cohorts.
These examples are from corpora and from sources on the web. Any opinions in the examples do not represent the opinion of the Cambridge Dictionary editors or of Cambridge University Press or its licensors.

Collocations withdecline

decline

These are words often used in combination with decline.

Click on a collocation to see more examples of it.

accelerating decline
Perhaps the more likely explanation is an accelerating decline in the marginal value of additional survival time (independent of pure time preference).
age-related decline
An age-related decline in interleukin-10 may contribute to the increased expression of interleukin-6 in brain of aged mice.
apparent decline
There is no apparent decline in these differences at present.
These examples are from corpora and from sources on the web. Any opinions in the examples do not represent the opinion of the Cambridge Dictionary editors or of Cambridge University Press or its licensors.
See all collocations with decline