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To refuse official approbation to; to disallow; to decline to sanction; as, the sentence of the court-martial was disapproved by the commander in chief.

To relinquish or deny having a claim; to disavow another's claim; to decline accepting, as an estate, interest, or office. Burrill.

To refuse or decline to accept or pay; -- said of a bill, check, note, or draft which is due or presented; as, to dishonor a bill exchange.

To proceed downward, or toward a close; to decline. "Then day drooped." Tennyson.

The process of dwindling; dwindlement; decline; degeneracy. [R.] Johnson.

r time of passing away; a falling from a better to a worse state; low state or condition; decline; decay. "Our ebb of life." Roscommon. Painting was then at its lowest ebb. Dryden. Ebb and flow, the alternate ebb and flood of the tide; often used figuratively. This alternation between unhealthy activity and depression,…

e latter part and close of the day, and the beginning of darkness or night; properly, the decline of the day, or of the sum. In the ascending scale Of heaven, the stars that usher evening rose. Milton.

To fall away; to become diminished; to decline; to decay; to sink. When earnestly they seek Such proof, conclude they then begin to fail. Milton.

To decline in power, glory, wealth, or importance; to become insignificant; to lose rank or position; to decline in weight, value, price etc.; to become less; as, the falls; stocks fell two points. I am a poor falle man, unworthy now To be thy lord and master. Shak. The greatness of these Irish lords suddenly fell and…

To refuse; to decline; to give no heed. Thou shalt speak my words unto them, whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear. Ezek. ii. 7.

To pass away; to depart forever; to be lost or ruined; to perish; to decline; to decease; to die. By Saint George, he's gone! That spear wound hath our master sped. Sir W. Scott.

e to another; regularly progressive; slow; as, a gradual increase of knowledge; a gradual decline. Creatures animate with gradual life Of growth, sense, reason, all summed up in man. Milton.

hdraw from the position taken; hence, to lose advantage; to lose credit or reputation; to decline. -- To stand one's ground, to stand firm; to resist attack or encroachment. Atterbury. -- To take the ground to touch bottom or become stranded; -- said of a ship.

nsive head. Milton. To hang down, to let fall below the proper position; to bend down; to decline; as, to hang down the head, or, elliptically, to hang the head. -- To hang fire (Mil.), to be slow in communicating fire through the vent to the charge; as, the gun hangs fire; hence, to hesitate, to hold back as if in su…

To vary, as a noun or a verb in its terminations; to decline, as a noun or adjective, or to conjugate, as a verb.

ate or condition; to support; to sustain; to uphold; to keep up; not to suffer to fail or decline; as, to maintain a certain degree of heat in a furnace; to maintain a fence or a railroad; to maintain the digestive process or powers of the stomach; to maintain the fertility of soil; to maintain present reputation.…

are slightly raised above the surface, and after the fourth day of the eruption gradually decline; rubeola. Measles commences with the ordinary symptoms of fever. Am. Cyc.

ut move one question to your daughter. Shak. They are to be blamed alike who move and who decline war upon particular respects. Hayward.

To discontinue by entering a nolle prosequi; to decline to prosecute.

To decline or fail to prosecute; to allow to be dropped (said of a suit); to enter judgment against (a plaintiff who fails to prosecute); as, the plaintiff was non-prossed.