Differing opinion on decline in speech (7)
I believe the answer is:
dissent
'differing opinion' is the definition.
The answer and definition can be both acts as well as being singular nouns.
Maybe you can see an association between them that I don't see?
'decline in speech' is the wordplay.
'decline' becomes 'descent' (synonyms).
'in speech' indicates a 'sounds like' (homophone) clue.
'descent' sounds like 'DISSENT'.
'on' acts as a link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for dissent that I've seen before include "Nonconformity" , "Raise objections" , "Withhold approval" , "Difference of opinion - snidest (anag)" , "Disagree" .)