declension

American  

[dih-klen-shuhn] / dɪˈklɛn ʃən /

noun

1. Grammar.

   1. the inflection of nouns, pronouns, and adjectives for categories such as case and number.

   2. the whole set of inflected forms of such a word, or the recital thereof in a fixed order.

   3. a class of such words having similar sets of inflected forms.

      the Latin second declension.

2. an act or instance of declining.

3. a bending, sloping, or moving downward.

   land with a gentle declension toward the sea.

4. deterioration; decline.

5. deviation, as from a standard.

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declension British  

/ dɪˈklɛnʃən /

noun

1. grammar

   1. inflection of nouns, pronouns, or adjectives for case, number, and gender

   2. the complete set of the inflections of such a word

      "puella" is a first-declension noun in Latin

2. a decline or deviation from a standard, belief, etc

3. a downward slope or bend

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Other Word Forms

• declensional adjective
• declensionally adverb

Etymology

Origin of declension

1400–50; late Middle English declenson, declynson (with suffix later assimilated to -sion ), by stress retraction and syncope < Old French declinaison < Latin dēclīnātiō declination

Explanation

A declension is a decline, like a downward slope or something that gets worse. As a grammar word, declension is the way a word's ending changes to reflect its function in a sentence. A hill's steep declension makes it easy to roll down, and if you think there’s a declension in quality of movies these days, you might just skip the theater. In another sense, if you've learned German or Greek, you're familiar with declension, as when a noun changes its form slightly to show that it's the object of a sentence. In English, we use prepositions and word order instead. The Latin root means "to lower or bend from."

Example Sentences

My chief concern about this otherwise fantastic work is that it is set up as a kind of declension narrative, itself a popular American Christian genre as old as the republic.

From Washington Post • Jan. 26, 2018

In eloquent sermons known as jeremiads, after the Old Testament prophet Jeremiah, vigilant ministers warned their flocks against declension, or a decline in religious standards.

From Textbooks • Jan. 18, 2018

Not entirely of the past, of course; phone conversation lives on in roughly the same way that swing dancing lives on, or Latin declension, or manual transmission.

From Slate • Sep. 18, 2016

I asked, after his declension of my shortcomings.

From The New Yorker • Mar. 30, 2016

He simply supplied the texts, aided with the translations, and rapped my hand when I failed at declension or agreement.

From "The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume I: The Pox Party" by M.T. Anderson