declension

(dĭ-klĕnˈshən)

1. Linguistics
   a. In certain languages, the inflection of nouns, pronouns, and adjectives in categories such as case, number, and gender.
   b. A class of words of one language with the same or a similar system of inflections, such as the first declension in Latin.
2. A descending slope; a descent.
3. A decline or decrease; deterioration: “States and empires have their periods of declension” (Laurence Sterne).
4. A deviation, as from a standard or practice.

Related Forms:

• de·clenˈsion·al adjective