decadent

decadent

See also: décadent

English

Alternative forms

• décadent

Etymology

From French décadent, back-formation from décadence, from Medieval Latin decadentia, from Late Latin decadens, present participle of decadō (“sink, fall”). Cognate with French décadent.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈdɛkədənt/

  • Audio (UK)

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Adjective

decadent (comparative more decadent, superlative most decadent)

1. Characterized by moral or cultural decline.
   • 1992, Gore Vidal - The Decline and Fall of the American Empire

     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.

2. 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!

Usage notes

See profligate § Usage notes.

Synonyms

• (luxuriously self-indulgent): sinful (colloquial)

Translations

characterized by moral or cultural decline

Bulgarian: упадъчен (bg) (upadǎčen) Catalan: decadent (ca) Czech: dekadentní (cs) Finnish: rappeutunut, turmeltunut (fi), dekadentti (fi) French: décadent (fr) German: dekadent (de) Hungarian: dekadens (hu) Icelandic: hnignandi, hrörnandi, spilltur, úrkynjaður Indonesian: dekaden (id) Irish: meatach Italian: decadente (it) Polish: dekadencki Romanian: decadent (ro) Russian: упа́дочный (ru) (upádočnyj), упа́дочнический (ru) (upádočničeskij), декаде́нтский (ru) (dekadéntskij) Spanish: decadente (es) Tagalog: namumulok

luxuriously self-indulgent

German: dekadent (de) Irish: peacúil Korean: 흥청망청 (heungcheongmangcheong)

Noun

decadent (plural decadents)

1. A person affected by moral decay.
   • L. Douglas

     He had the fastidiousness, the preciosity, the love of archaisms, of your true decadent.

Related terms

English terms derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *ḱh₂d-‎ (0 c, 30 e)

Translations

person affected by moral decay

Bulgarian: декадент m (dekadent) French: décadent (fr) m, décadente (fr) f Italian: decadentista m Russian: декаде́нт (ru) m (dekadént), декаде́нтка (ru) f (dekadéntka)

Anagrams

• decanted

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Catalan

Etymology

From Late Latin decadens.

Pronunciation

• (Balearic) IPA^(key): /də.kəˈdent/
• (Central) IPA^(key): /də.kəˈden/
• (Valencian) IPA^(key): /de.kaˈdent/

Adjective

decadent (masculine and feminine plural decadents)

1. decadent

Related terms

• decadència
• decaure

Further reading

• “decadent” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
• “decadent”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2023
• “decadent” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
• “decadent” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.

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Romanian

Etymology

From French décadent.

Adjective

decadent m or n (feminine singular decadentă, masculine plural decadenți, feminine and neuter plural decadente)

1. decadent

Declension

Declension of decadent

		singular			plural
		masculine	neuter	feminine	masculine	neuter	feminine
nominative/ accusative	indefinite	decadent		decadentă	decadenți	decadente
	definite	decadentul		decadenta	decadenții	decadentele
genitive/ dative	indefinite	decadent		decadente	decadenți	decadente
	definite	decadentului		decadentei	decadenților	decadentelor

See also

• decadență