What context can I use each word in?
Learn when and how to use these words with these examples!
declined
Example
The company's profits have declined steadily over the past year. [declined: verb]
Example
I declined the invitation to the party since I had other plans. [declined: past tense]
Example
In the sentence 'The boy's hat fell off,' 'boy's' is in the possessive declined form. [declined: adjective]
weaken
Example
The storm weakened the foundation of the building. [weakened: verb]
Example
The patient's immune system was weakened after the surgery. [weakened: adjective]
Example
The counterargument weakened the author's thesis. [weakened: verb]
Good things to know
Which word is more common?
Weaken is more commonly used than declined in everyday language. Weaken is versatile and covers a wide range of contexts, while declined is less common and often used in specific fields such as finance or grammar.
What’s the difference in the tone of formality between declined and weaken?
Both declined and weaken are neutral in terms of formality and can be used in both formal and informal contexts.
