decadence

dec·a·dence

This is decadence!

noun

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.

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.

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"decadence." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 20 February 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/Decadence>.

APA Style

decadence. (n.d.). Retrieved February 20th, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/Decadence

decadence

a process, condition, or period of decline, as in morals, art, literature, etc.; deterioration; decay
lavish or sensual self-indulgence

Also dec′a·dency

Origin of decadence

French décadence, a falling away from Medieval Latin decadentia from present participle of Vulgar Latin an unverified form decadere, to fall away from Classical Latin de-, from + cadere, to fall: see case

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MLA Style

"decadence." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 20 February 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/Decadence>.

APA Style

decadence. (n.d.). Retrieved February 20th, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/Decadence

decadence

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 of decadence

French décadence from Old French decadence from Medieval Latin dēcadentia a decaying, declining from Vulgar Latin dēcadere to decay ; see decay .

THE AMERICAN HERITAGE® DICTIONARY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE, FIFTH EDITION by the Editors of the American Heritage Dictionaries. Copyright © 2016, 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

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Link to this page

Cite this page

MLA Style

"decadence." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 20 February 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/Decadence>.

APA Style

decadence. (n.d.). Retrieved February 20th, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/Decadence

Noun

(countable and uncountable, plural decadences)

A state of moral or artistic decline or deterioration; decay

Related terms

Origin

From French décadence, from Medieval Latin decadentia (“decay”), from *decadens (“decaying”), present participle of *decadere (“to decay”); see decay.

English Wiktionary. Available under CC-BY-SA license.