decadent

C2+ Topic:Cause, Change & Process

US /ˈdɛkədənt/ UK /ˈdekədənt/ See IPA manual

adj noun

Meanings

1

adj
characterized by decline or luxurious self-indulgence

They served a decadent chocolate dessert.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 adj · characterized by decline or... degenerate corrupt dissolutedebauchedself-indulgentdecaying effete hedonistic

Opposites

virtuous ascetic austere wholesome flourishing

Word family

Derived forms decadentlydecadentism

Related forms decadence decay

Etymology

From French décadent, from Late Latin decadens, present participle of decadere ('to fall down, decay'), from de- ('down') plus cadere ('to fall').

decadere Latin cadere Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Cause, Change & Process Word Formation & Derivatives

# decadent

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** adj, noun
**IPA (US):** ˈdɛkədənt
**IPA (UK):** ˈdekədənt

## Meanings
1. characterized by decline or luxurious self-indulgence

## Examples
- They served a decadent chocolate dessert.

## Synonyms
- degenerate
- corrupt
- dissolute
- debauched
- self-indulgent
- decaying
- effete
- hedonistic

## Antonyms
- virtuous
- ascetic
- austere
- wholesome
- flourishing

## Derived Forms
- decadently
- decadentism

## Related Forms
- decadence
- decay

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

## Etymology
From French décadent, from Late Latin decadens, present participle of decadere ('to fall down, decay'), from de- ('down') plus cadere ('to fall').

## AI Etymology
Decadent is from French décadent, from Late Latin decadens, present participle of decadere ('to fall down, decay'), from de- ('down') plus cadere ('to fall'). The ancestry passes through Latin decadere 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 adjective and noun, it means "characterized by decline or luxurious self-indulgence", keeping the historical formation close to the word's ordinary semantic work. Related words include decadence and decay; derived forms include decadently and decadentism.

## Topics
- Cause, Change & Process
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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decadent

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