Skip to main content
declination

declination

1 9.1
A slope that goes down
  • noun
  • /ˌdɛklɪˈneɪʃən/
translation icon : inclinación
  • The architect designed the roof with a slight declination to ensure proper water drainage.

Examples

  • Installation Site Magnetic Compass Reading Installation Site Declination Installation Site Degrees + or - True South Adjusted for Declination

    Academic text (2012)
  • I took my sweater from its peg by the door, started down through the pines on the old path, the declination hurrying me along, so by the time I reached the pond, I was all but running.

    Fiction book (2000)
  • This is known as magnetic variation or declination, and it varies by location.

    Academic text (2012)
  • Installation Site Magnetic Compass Reading Installation Site Declination Installation Site Degrees + or - True South Adjusted for Declination

    Academic text (2012)
  • While hiking, we noticed the gentle declination of the trail leading down to the river.

  • As winter approached, the declination of the sun resulted in shorter days and longer shadows.

Synonyms

descent
vsdeclination
89 3.7

A movement down from a higher place to a lower place or a slope that goes down

names the physical sloping form rather than the movement downwards
slope
vsdeclination
  • Specialized
69 3.2

How much a line or surface tilts from flat ground

describes the sloping condition rather than the amount of tilt
slant
vsdeclination
11 3.4

How much a surface goes up or down from flat

is the general idea of downward bending, not focused on degree
decline
vsdeclination
7 3.5

A downward slope in the ground or surface

focuses on the sloping condition rather than the surface location
downslope
vsdeclination
3 3.7

The part of a hill that slopes down to a lower level

is the broader concept for any downward bend or sloping condition
declivity
vsdeclination
1 9.6

A slope that goes down like the side of a hill

is broader, applying to any downward bend or sloping position
declension
vsdeclination
8.8

A surface or area that slopes downward

is the general term stressing the condition of sloping downward

Compounds

magnetic declination
  • Specialized
6.7

The angle between the direction a compass points and true north at a place

How Steep

cliff
438 1.0
declination
1 9.1
to slope
29 1.7

Surface Forms

declination singular
declinations plural

Morphology

declination = decline (semi-transparent) = decline + tion + ation

The connection to 'decline' is clear, but the specific meaning of a 'downward slope' is not a standard derivation for all learners.

Etymology

Declination comes from Latin parts de- 'away' and clinare 'to bend', and it is like the common word incline which means a slope. So a declination is a downward bend or slope.