Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. A process, condition, or period of deterioration or decline, as in morals or art; decay.
- n. A literary movement especially of late 19th-century France and England characterized by refined aestheticism, artifice, and the quest for new sensations.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. A falling off or away; the act or process of falling into an inferior condition or state; the process or state of decay; deterioration.
Wiktionary
- n. A state of moral or artistic decline or deterioration; decay
GNU Webster's 1913
- n. A falling away; decay; deterioration; declension. “The old castle, where the family lived in their
decadence .”
WordNet 3.0
- n. the state of being degenerate in mental or moral qualities
Etymologies
- French décadence, from Old French decadence, from Medieval Latin dēcadentia, a decaying, declining, from Vulgar Latin *dēcadere, to decay; see decay.
Examples
“Although I am loathe to use the word, the term decadence comes to mind.”
“On the other, Ramadan TV talk shows on state-sponsored television featuring racily dressed female hosts discussing intimate sex secrets with celebrities have sparked outrage from conservatives, denouncing what they call the decadence that is sweeping the nation.”
“In a post-Apocalyptic world where supernaturals have emerged from hiding, wealthy humans delight in decadence while the religious gain power through temptation.”
“Take heart, things are gonna be rough, in many ways over the next decade, the soft and spoiled days of cheap energy are over, decadence is about to implode.”
“Whitefish Imperial is a slightly less decadent and much less expensive version of crab imperial, a dish that is the definition of decadence.”
“Lately the topic of decadence is weighing heavily on my thoughts.”
“The current attitude of get-alongism that plagues the Church, evidence of a profound decadence, is not a good sign for the future.”
“Pobrecito's ill-fated hope of leading a life of decadence is derived from looking at porn magazines, secreted away in an American cemetery, which he takes to selling on the streets in exchange for food.”
REVIEW: The Best Science Fiction and Fantasy of the Year Volume 1 edited by Jonathan Strahan
“This zone was developed at the beginning of the 8th century A.D., when the lowland cities of the Maya were in decadence or already abandoned.”
“Dining for a month on the traditional, super-rich winter cuisine of northern Italy has been a delightful exercise in decadence, but I might not make it to spring unless I get some roughage to cut through this buildup of breadsticks, butter, whipped cream, chocolate, meat, egg-yolk pasta and cheese.”
USATODAY.com - Looking back on the culinary delights of Torino
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘decadence’.
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GRE Barrons Wordlist
A complete Barron's Wordlist for GRE preparation. Your online flashcard replacement.
abase, abash, abate, abbreviate, abdicate, aberrant, aberration, abet, abeyance, abhor, abject, abjure and 4084 more...
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Things that Can (and Should) be set On Fire and...
The words piano and sister may not appear on this list. It all started on flaming piano.
bottled water, dudley moore, wads of unpaid bills, casu marzu factories, pogroms, frozen pizzas, breakable glass f..., cacophonists, intransigents, belligerent smurfs, police academy re..., unidentified samp... and 103 more...
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Snooty
Words that think way too much of themselves
notoriety, posh, victorian, mien, terrace, veritable, ambivalent, paradox, hypocrisy, damned, caprice, renaissance and 8 more...
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