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decadence

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Decadence is defined as behavior that shows a love of self-indulgence, pleasure and money, or the process of decline or decay in society's ethical and moral traditions.

(noun)

An example of decadence is a dessert bar with hundreds of choices of chocolate desserts.
An example of decadence is the Decadent movement in the late 19th century when artists and writers such as Oscar Wilde moved away from the Romantic ethical view to a more dishonest behavior reflecting a decline in moral behavior.

See decadence in Webster's New World College Dictionary

noun

a process, condition, or period of decline, as in morals, art, literature, etc.; deterioration; decay

also decadency

Origin: Fr décadence, a falling away < ML decadentia < prp. of VL *decadere, to fall away < L de-, from + cadere, to fall: see case

See decadence in American Heritage Dictionary 4

noun

A process, condition, or period of deterioration or decline, as in morals or art; decay.
often Decadence A literary movement especially of late 19th-century France and England characterized by refined aestheticism, artifice, and the quest for new sensations.

Origin:

Origin: French décadence

Origin: , from Old French decadence

Origin: , from Medieval Latin dēcadentia, a decaying, declining

Origin: , from Vulgar Latin *dēcadere, to decay; see decay

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