recline

C2+ Topic:Actions & Processes

US /rɪˈklaɪn/ UK /rɪˈklaɪn/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

verb
to lean or lie back in a relaxed position

He reclined on the sofa and closed his eyes.

Verb forms

Verb forms are not available for this word yet.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 verb · to lean or lie back in a... lean lie repose loll lounge sprawl

Opposites

sit stand rise

Word family

Derived forms reclinerreclination

Related forms incline decline lean

Simplified etymology

Recline dates from late Middle English and belongs to a word family based on Latin clinare, referring to bending or sloping; incline, decline, and the Old English verb lean are related through this root.

Etymology

From Old French recliner, from Latin reclinare ('to lean back'), from re- ('back') + clinare ('to bend, lean').

reclinare Latin clinare Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Actions & Processes

External links

# recline

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** verb
**IPA (US):** /rɪˈklaɪn/
**IPA (UK):** /rɪˈklaɪn/

## Meanings
1. to lean or lie back in a relaxed position

## Examples
- He reclined on the sofa and closed his eyes.

## Synonyms
- lean
- lie
- repose
- loll
- lounge
- sprawl

## Antonyms
- sit
- stand
- rise

## Derived Forms
- recliner
- reclination

## Related Forms
- incline
- decline
- lean

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: reclinare
- Root: clinare

## Etymology
From Old French recliner, from Latin reclinare ('to lean back'), from re- ('back') + clinare ('to bend, lean').

## AI Etymology
Recline comes from Old French recliner, from Latin reclinare ('to lean back'), from re- ('back') + clinare ('to bend, lean'). The historical chain includes Latin reclinare and Latin clinare. Older glosses in the chain include "to lean back", "back", and "to bend, lean", which help explain the semantic range of the modern word. Morphologically, recline is best read as compound and borrowing, yielding an English verb shaped by both form history and later usage. In current English it functions as a verb, with the sense "to lean or lie back in a relaxed position". English derivatives include recliner and reclination; related forms include incline, decline, and lean. The result is an English verb whose etymology preserves the older forms while supporting the word's specialized modern meaning.

## Topics
- Actions & Processes

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