Decline
Decline noun - A downward slope.
Usage example: the bicyclist lost control on the unexpectedly steep decline
Upgrade
Upgrade noun - An upward slope.
Usage example: had to walk our bicycle on the upgrades on our ride through the hills
Common collocations
| times | decline times | upgrade times |
Both words in one sentence
- You can decline, but it's unwise, since the upgrade is the only thing capable of even making a dent in the drone's shields.
Source: Eleventh Hour Superpower -
Said villainous upgrade was actually a fairly common practice around the decline of the Tokugawa shogunate, some 200 years after its founding.
Source: Useful Notes / Tokugawa Ieyasu -
There are many instances in this book and Marvel Star Wars where Luke and Leia very nearly have a Relationship Upgrade and then decline or are interrupted, then drop the idea for a while, not sure why they're reluctant.
Source: But I Would Really Enjoy It
Cite this Source
Upgrade and Decline. (2016). Retrieved 2026, August 16, from https://thesaurus.plus/related/decline/upgrade
Decline & Upgrade. N.p., 2016. Web. 16 Aug. 2026. <https://thesaurus.plus/related/decline/upgrade>.
Upgrade or Decline. 2016. Accessed August 16, 2026. https://thesaurus.plus/related/decline/upgrade.
Google Ngram Viewer shows how "decline" and "upgrade" have occurred on timeline