decadence

US /ˈdɛkədəns/ UK /ˈdekədəns/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

noun
moral or cultural decline marked by self-indulgence

Critics saw decadence in the empire's lavish excess.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · moral or cultural decline... decline degeneracy corruption dissipation decay debaucheryself-indulgencedegeneration

Opposites

flourishing ascendancy rise virtue austerity

Word family

Related forms decadent decay decline

Etymology

From French décadence, from Medieval Latin decadentia ('a falling away'), from Late Latin decadens, present participle of decadere ('to fall down, decay'), from de- ('down') plus cadere ('to fall').

decadentia Latin cadere Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Abstract Ideas Word Formation & Derivatives

External links

# decadence

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /ˈdɛkədəns/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈdekədəns/

## Meanings
1. moral or cultural decline marked by self-indulgence

## Examples
- Critics saw decadence in the empire's lavish excess.

## Synonyms
- decline
- degeneracy
- corruption
- dissipation
- decay
- debauchery
- self-indulgence
- degeneration

## Antonyms
- flourishing
- ascendancy
- rise
- virtue
- austerity

## Related Forms
- decadent
- decay
- decline

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: decadentia
- Root: cadere

## Etymology
From French décadence, from Medieval Latin decadentia ('a falling away'), from Late Latin decadens, present participle of decadere ('to fall down, decay'), from de- ('down') plus cadere ('to fall').

## AI Etymology
Decadence is from French décadence, from Medieval Latin decadentia ('a falling away'), from Late Latin decadens, present participle of decadere ('to fall down, decay'), from de- ('down') plus cadere ('to fall'). The ancestry passes through Latin decadentia and Latin cadere. The prefix de- often marks removal, reversal, or downward motion in Latin formations, helping to explain the word's surface structure. In present use as a noun, it means "moral or cultural decline marked by self-indulgence", keeping the historical formation close to the word's ordinary semantic work. Related words include decadent, decay, and decline.

## Topics
- Abstract Ideas
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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