Meanings
plural declinations
- countableuncountableAt a given point, the angle between magnetic north and true north.
Synonyms: magnetic declination
- countableuncountableA refusal.
the queen's declination from marriage
1746, Arthur Collins, Letters And Memorials Of State In the Reigns of Queen MarySynonyms: nonassent, denial, rejection, abnegation, denial, turndown, disapproval, dissension
- countableuncountablehuman sciencesThe gradual decline in the overall fundamental frequency or pitch of speech over the course of an utterance, independent of local variations such as tones and pitch accents.
- countableuncountableobsolete or non-native speakers' EnglishgrammarDeclension.
- archaiccountableuncountableThe act or state of bending downward; inclination.
declination of the head
- archaiccountableuncountableThe act or state of falling off or declining from excellence or perfection; deterioration; decay; decline.
the declination of monarchy
1625, Francis [Bacon], “Of Cunning”, in The Essayes […], 3rd edition, London: […] Iohn Haviland for Hanna Barret, →OCLC1 more example
Summer […] is not looked on as a time of declination or decay.
c. 1635, Edmund Waller, To My Young Lady Lucy Sidney - archaiccountableuncountableDeviation.
November 2, 1690, Robert South, Sinners Inexcusable from Natural Religion Only every violation of and declination from the rules
1 more example
this declination of atoms in their descent
1692, Richard Bentley, [A Confutation of Atheism] (please specify the sermon), London: [Thomas Parkhurst; Henry Mortlock], published 1692–1693
Synonyms & antonyms
nounAt a given point, the angle between magnetic north and true north.
nounAt a given point, the angle between the line connecting this point with the geographical center of the earth and the equatorial plane.
nounA refusal.
More synonyms by meaning
nouna condition inferior to an earlier condition; a gradual falling off from a better state; decline
nouna downward slope or bend
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
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Latindeclinatio
- Middle Frenchdeclination
- Middle Englishdeclinacioun
- Englishdeclination
From Middle English declinacioun, borrowed from Middle French declination, from Latin declinatio. Doublet of declension.
More words from Middle English, Middle French, Latin
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Arabic مِيل
- مِيل (mīl)at a given point, the angle between the line connecting this point with the geographical center of the earth and the equatorial plane
Bulgarian отклонение, деклинация
- отклонение (otklonenie)at a given point, the angle between magnetic north and true north
- деклинация (deklinacija)at a given point, the angle between magnetic north and true north
- деклинация (deklinacija)at a given point, the angle between the line connecting this point with the geographical center of the earth and the equatorial plane
- отказ (otkaz)refusal
Chinese Mandarin 赤緯 /赤纬
- 赤緯 /赤纬 (chìwěi)at a given point, the angle between magnetic north and true north
Czech deklinace
- deklinaceat a given point, the angle between magnetic north and true north
Dutch declinatie
- declinatieat a given point, the angle between the line connecting this point with the geographical center of the earth and the equatorial plane
Finnish eranto, deklinaatio
- erantoat a given point, the angle between magnetic north and true north
- deklinaatioat a given point, the angle between magnetic north and true north
- deklinaatioat a given point, the angle between the line connecting this point with the geographical center of the earth and the equatorial plane
French déclinaison, déclinaison
- déclinaisonat a given point, the angle between magnetic north and true north
- déclinaisonat a given point, the angle between the line connecting this point with the geographical center of the earth and the equatorial plane
German Deklination, Missweisung
- Deklinationat a given point, the angle between magnetic north and true north
- Missweisungat a given point, the angle between magnetic north and true north
- Ortsmissweisungat a given point, the angle between magnetic north and true north
- Deklinationat a given point, the angle between the line connecting this point with the geographical center of the earth and the equatorial plane
Greek απόκλιση, απόκλιση
- απόκλιση (apóklisi)at a given point, the angle between magnetic north and true north
- απόκλιση (apóklisi)at a given point, the angle between the line connecting this point with the geographical center of the earth and the equatorial plane
- άρνηση (árnisi)refusal
Hindi दिक्पात
- दिक्पात (dikpāt)at a given point, the angle between magnetic north and true north
Hungarian elhajlás, eltérés
- elhajlásat a given point, the angle between magnetic north and true north
- eltérésat a given point, the angle between magnetic north and true north
- elhajlásat a given point, the angle between the line connecting this point with the geographical center of the earth and the equatorial plane
- eltérésat a given point, the angle between the line connecting this point with the geographical center of the earth and the equatorial plane
- elutasításrefusal
- visszautasításrefusal
Italian declinazione, declinazione
- declinazioneat a given point, the angle between magnetic north and true north
- declinazioneat a given point, the angle between the line connecting this point with the geographical center of the earth and the equatorial plane
Japanese 赤緯
- 赤緯 (sekii)at a given point, the angle between magnetic north and true north
Korean 적위
- 적위 (jeogwi)at a given point, the angle between magnetic north and true north
Persian میل
- میل (meyl)at a given point, the angle between magnetic north and true north
Polish deklinacja, deklinacja
- deklinacjaat a given point, the angle between magnetic north and true north
- deklinacjaat a given point, the angle between the line connecting this point with the geographical center of the earth and the equatorial plane
- odmowarefusal
Russian склоне́ние, склоне́ние
- склоне́ние (sklonénije)at a given point, the angle between magnetic north and true north
- склоне́ние (sklonénije)at a given point, the angle between the line connecting this point with the geographical center of the earth and the equatorial plane
Swedish agnetisk deklination, missvisning
- agnetisk deklinationat a given point, the angle between magnetic north and true north
- missvisningat a given point, the angle between magnetic north and true north
- deklinationat a given point, the angle between the line connecting this point with the geographical center of the earth and the equatorial plane
Turkish manyetik sapma, varyasyon
- manyetik sapmaat a given point, the angle between magnetic north and true north
- varyasyonat a given point, the angle between magnetic north and true north
- deklinasyonat a given point, the angle between the line connecting this point with the geographical center of the earth and the equatorial plane
- dik açıklıkat a given point, the angle between the line connecting this point with the geographical center of the earth and the equatorial plane
Vietnamese xích vĩ
- xích vĩat a given point, the angle between magnetic north and true north
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with declination
Anagrams
Cite this entry
declination. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/declination
“declination.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/declination. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “declination,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/declination.
Source: declination on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.