décline

Decline, or décliner in French, is a verb with several closely related meanings. It is derived from the Latin declinare, from de- “away” and clinare “to bend,” and entered French with the sense of bending away from a path or line, later broadening to figurative uses such as refusing or outlining variations.

In everyday use, décliner means to refuse politely or to turn down an invitation, offer, or proposal. This is often seen in formal or courteous communication: Je décline votre invitation. Elle a décliné l’offre et proposé une autre date. It can also express a rejection of a request or obligation, with a nuance of tact or tactful retreat rather than open rebuff.

A second common sense is to “decline” a product, collection, or idea by presenting multiple variants or versions. In marketing or publishing, on peut décliner une collection en plusieurs modèles, couleurs ou tailles. In this sense, décliner is synonymous with “proposer des déclinaisons” or “adapter à différentes versions.”

Grammatical notes: décliner is a regular verb of the first conjugation. The present tense forms are: je décline, tu déclines, il/elle décline, nous déclinons, vous déclinerez, ils/elles déclinent. The third-person singular form is décline, and the second-person singular is déclines; context and pronouns typically disambiguate.

Related terms include déclinaison (declension in linguistic and historical contexts) and déclin (the noun for decline or downturn in French). Decline as a noun in French is generally déclin, while décliner remains the verb form.