decadence
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decadence
- /ˈdɛkəd(ə)n(t)s/ US, UK
Where it comes from
Unadapted borrowing from French décadence, from Medieval Latin decadentia (“act of decaying, decay”), from Latin *decadens (“decaying”) + -ia (suffix forming abstract nouns). *Decadens is the present participle of *decadere, from dē- (prefix meaning ‘down; from, of’) + cadere (the present active infinitive of cadō (“to fall, fall out; to decay; etc.”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ḱad- (“to fall”), possibly related to *ḱeh₂d- (“anger; hatred”)).
noun decadences
-
With a negative connotation: the process of declining from a state of moral virtue, prosperity, etc., to a worse state; decay, deterioration; also, the bad state which has been reached; (countable) an instance of this.
This Gentleman hath ever ſince, upon all Occaſions, continually expreſſed his grateful Acknovvledgements for all this noble Patronage, vvithout vvhich he had ſuffer'd large Decadences both of Mind and Body.
Similar: decadency
-
An age or period of time when art, literature, etc., is regarded as having declined.
In no description of this chapel have I ever seen the names and subjects accurately given: the style of art belongs to the decadence, and the taste being worse than questionable, the pervading doctrinal idea has been neglected, or never understood.
Similar: decadency
- With a positive connotation: the quality of being luxuriously enjoyable or self-indulgent, especially of food; luxuriousness, richness. the decadence of a five-star hotel
- The process or state of falling down or falling off. I fell to the ground in the dirtiest soil that could be selected by a man in a state of decadence.
Translations
Every language
noun process of declining from a state of moral virtue, prosperity, etc., to a worse state; the bad state which has been reached; an instance of this — see also deca
| Español | decadencia |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 데카당스 dekadangseu, 퇴폐 toepye |
| 日本語 | デカダンス dekadansu, 退廃 taihai |
| 中文 | 墮落 /堕落 duòluò, 腐朽 fǔxiǔ, 頹廢 /颓废 tuífèi |
| हिन्दी | गिरावट girāvaṭ, ह्रास hrās, ह्रासोन्मुखता hrāsonmukhtā, क्षयिष्णुता kṣayiṣṇutā, पतन patan |
| Português | decadência |
| Français | décadence, décadentisme |
| Deutsch | Dekadenz |
| Italiano | decadenza, decadentismo |
| Ελληνικά | κατάπτωση katáptosi, κραιπάλη kraipáli |
| Română | decadență |
| Русский | декада́нс dɛkadáns, декаде́нтство dɛkadɛ́ntstvo, упа́дничество upádničestvo, упа́дочничество upádočničestvo, упа́док upádok |
| العربية | اضمحلال iḍmiḥlāl |
Talk about this word "decadence." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/decadence. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. decadence. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/decadence "decadence." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/decadence.Cite this
@misc{decadence_2026,
title = {decadence},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/decadence},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
