recline
verb · noun
Simple meaning
To cause to lean back.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
rihklynSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ɹɪkˈlaɪn
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
verb
transitive
To cause to lean back; to bend back.
intransitive
To put oneself in a resting position.
Cause to recline
“She reclined her head on the pillow.”
Lean in a comfortable resting position
noun
A mechanism for lowering the back of a seat to support a less upright position; Also, the action of lowering the back using such a mechanism.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- C2 · Proficient (estimated)
- Frequency
- Rare
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: To cause to lean back; to bend back.
Used this way, recline is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- No strong connotation
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use recline
- “She reclined her head on the pillow.”verb
Share your sentence
Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Tap the highlighted word to open its own entry.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Inflected forms
Grammatical variations of the same word.
The act of assuming or maintaining a reclining position.
An armchair whose back can be lowered and foot can be raised to allow the sitter to recline in it.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
An armchair whose back can be lowered and foot can be raised to allow the sitter to recline in it.
More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
Use This Word
See how this word sounds in a real sentence.
Ask Vocabaura
Understand the word your way.
What Does It Mean Here?
Words can change meaning depending on context.
Related Learning
Guides that use this word in context.
Use it yourself
Knowing “recline” starts when you use it. Pick a next step, all free.
Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.