decadent
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decadent
- /ˈdɛkədənt/
Where it comes from
From French décadent, a back-formation from décadence (see -ent), from Medieval Latin dēcadentia, from Late Latin dēcadēns, present participle of dēcadō, dēcidō (“sink, fall; perish”), from Latin dē- + cadō (“fall”).
adjective more decadent · most decadent · décadent
-
Characterized by moral or cultural decline.
As societies grow decadent, the language grows decadent, too. Words are used to disguise, not to illuminate, action: you liberate a city by destroying it. Words are to confuse, so that at election time people will solemnly vote against their own interests.
Similar: corrupted, degenerate, aberrant, corrupt, depraved, lost, dirty-handed, dissolute, effete, errant, questionable, indecent
-
Luxuriously self-indulgent.
2003, Hedonismbot in the Futurama episode "The Devil's Hands Are Idle Playthings"
Surgery in an opera? How wonderfully decadent! And just as I was beginning to lose interest!
Similar: epicurean, sinful, Babylonian, decadent, epicureal, epicureous, epicurish, hedonic, hedonistic, intemperate, lotus-eating, luxurious
Similar: effete
noun decadents · décadent
- A person affected by moral decay. L. Douglas He had the fastidiousness, the preciosity, the love of archaisms, of your true decadent.
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: indulgent, effete, rotten, decaying, decayed, corrupt, décadent, degenerate, louche, sinful, scrofulous, dilapidated, bedraggled, corrupted, vicious, gangrened
adjective
Similar: effete
Translations
Every language
adj characterized by moral or cultural decline
| Español | decadente |
|---|---|
| 中文 | 腐朽 fǔxiǔ, 糜爛 /糜烂 mílàn, 頹廢 /颓废 tuífèi |
| हिन्दी | पतनोन्मुख patnonmukh, ह्रासोन्मुख hrāsonmukh, अपकर्षी apkarṣī, पतनोमुख patnomukh |
| Français | décadent |
| Deutsch | dekadent |
| Italiano | decadente |
| Română | decadent |
| Русский | упа́дочный upádočnyj, упа́дочнический upádočničeskij, декаде́нтский dekadéntskij |
adj luxuriously self-indulgent
| Español | inmoderado, vicioso |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 흥청망청 heungcheongmangcheong |
| Deutsch | dekadent |
noun person affected by moral decay
| हिन्दी | पतित patit |
|---|---|
| Français | décadent, décadente |
| Italiano | decadentista |
| Русский | декаде́нт dekadént, декаде́нтка dekadéntka |
Talk about this word "decadent." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/decadent. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. decadent. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/decadent "decadent." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/decadent.Cite this
@misc{decadent_2026,
title = {decadent},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/decadent},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
