declination

/ˈdɛkləˌneɪʃən/

Other forms: declinations

When you turn down an invitation, that's a declination. Another kind of declination is when something slopes down, like the declination of a playground slide.

Look at the noun declination and you can see the verb decline, which means "to lessen," "to slope down," and "to refuse." Declination is the process of doing any of these things. In astronomy, it's also the distance between an object and the celestial equator, measured at an angle. The Latin root is declinatio, "a bending away."

Definitions of declination

1. noun

   a condition inferior to an earlier condition; a gradual falling off from a better state
   synonyms: decline

   types:

   disuse, neglect

   the state of something that has been unused and neglected

   twilight

   a condition of decline following successes

   wreck

   something or someone that has suffered ruin or dilapidation

   omission

   something that has been omitted

   type of:

   condition, status

   a state at a particular time
2. noun

   a downward slope or bend
   synonyms: declension, decline, declivity, descent, downslope, fall

   types:

   downhill

   the downward slope of a hill

   steep

   a steep place (as on a hill)

   type of:

   incline, side, slope

   an elevated geological formation
3. noun

   a polite refusal of an invitation
   synonyms: regrets

   type of:

   acknowledgement, acknowledgment

   a statement acknowledging something or someone

   refusal

   a message refusing to accept something that is offered
4. noun

   (astronomy) the angular distance of a celestial body north or to the south of the celestial equator; expressed in degrees; used with right ascension to specify positions on the celestial sphere
   synonyms: celestial latitude, dec

   type of:

   angular distance

   the angular separation between two objects as perceived by an observer