decadence

de·cad·ence
D2E1C3A1D2E1N1C3E1
US, UK/ˈdɛkəd(ə)n(t)s/

noun

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.

“the decadence of a five-star hotel”

Similar
decadencydegeneracydegeneration
OriginMedieval Latin decadentia ← Latin *decadens ← Proto-Indo-European *ḱad- →
Less commonScrabble 15
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Meanings

noundecadence (countable and uncountable, plural decadences)

plural decadences

  1. uncountableWith 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.

    He sold part of the lands, evacuated the old castle, where the family lived in their decadence, as a mouse (said an old farmer) lives under a firlot.

    1815 February 24, [Walter Scott], chapter II, in Guy Mannering; or, The Astrologer. […], volume I, Edinburgh: […] James Ballantyne and Co. for Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown, […]; and Archibald Constable and Co., […], →OCLC, page 21
    5 more examples

    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.

    a. 1735 (date written), Roger North, The Life of the Right Honourable Francis North, Baron of Guilford, […], London: […] John Whiston, […], published 1742, →OCLC, page 304

    But it is novv thought even by the Engliſh themſelves that the race of their poets is extinct, every day produces ſome pathetic exclamation upon the decadence of taſte and genius.

    1760, Oliver Goldsmith, “Letter XXXIX. From the Same [Lien Chi Altangi, to ***, Merchant in Amsterdam.]”, in The Citizen of the World; or Letters from a Chinese Philosopher, […], volume I, London: […] [F]or the author; and sold by J. Newbery and W. Bristow, […]; J. Leake and W. Frederick, […]; B. Collins, […]; and A. M. Smart and Co. […], published 1762, →OCLC, page 169

    [I]t would seem that localized freezings and thawings, growths and decadences, innumerable and constantly changing, must result, and with them motion of the granules themselves and of the common mass.

    1894 December 28 (date delivered), T[homas] C[hrowder] Chamberlin, “Recent Glacial Studies in Greenland: Annual Address”, in Joseph Stanley[-]Brown, editor, Bulletin of the Geological Society of America, volume 6, number XXVIII, Rochester, N.Y.: Geological Society of America, published 1895, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 212

    This is but another illustration of the old maxim, that as the speed of falling bodies increases with distance, so literary decadences increase with time.

    1898, James Fitzmaurice-Kelly, “Introductory”, in Edmund Gosse, editor, A History of Spanish Literature (Short Histories of the Literatures of the World; 5), London: William Heinemann, →OCLC, page 6

    Chinese literature has had, of course, many changes, has had its prosperities and decadences, but it has always gone on, at least from Confucius until now.

    1901 July 20, “Books. Chinese Literature.”, in The Spectator: A Weekly Journal of News, Politics, Literature, and Science, volume LXXXVII, number 3,812, London: John Baker, […], →ISSN, →OCLC, page 93, column 2

    Synonyms: decadency

    1. uncountableartAn 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.

      1857, [Anna Brownell] Jameson, “Supplementary Notes”, in Legends of the Madonna as Represented in the Fine Arts. […], 2nd edition, London: Longman, Brown, Green, Longmans, & Roberts, →OCLC, section II, page lxxiii

      Synonyms: decadency

  2. uncountableWith a positive connotation: the quality of being luxuriously enjoyable or self-indulgent, especially of food; luxuriousness, richness.

    the decadence of a five-star hotel

    1 more example

    The epitome of chocolate decadence and peppermint bliss, these holiday dream bars feature C&H® Granulated Sugar and receive an extra dose of flavor from the subtle molasses notes found in C&H® Light Brown Sugar

    2022, “Chocolate-peppermint Dream Bars [advertisement]”, in Brian Hart Hoffman, editor, Bake from Scratch: Holiday Cookies, Birmingham, Ala.: Hoffman Media, →OCLC, page 5
  3. archaicuncountableThe 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.

    1812 August 1 (date written), Robert Wilson, edited by Herbert Randolph, Private Diary of Travels, Personal Services, and Public Events, during Mission and Employment with the European Armies in the Campaigns of 1812, 1813, 1814. […], volume I, London: John Murray, […], published 1861, →OCLC, page 136

Synonyms & antonyms

nounWith 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.

Similar
decadency

nounAn age or period of time when art, literature, etc., is regarded as having declined.

Similar
decadency

More synonyms by meaning

nounthe state of being degenerate in mental or moral qualities

Similar
degeneracydegenerationdecadency
Broader
abasementdegradationabjection
Also see
decadencydegeneracydegenerationluxury

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*ḱad-“to fall”
  2. Latin*decadens“decaying”
  3. Medieval Latindecadentia“act of decaying, decay”
  4. Englishdecadence

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”)).

More words from Medieval Latin, Latin, Proto-Indo-European

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Arabic اضمحلال
  • اضمحلال (iḍmiḥlāl)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 decay, deterioration
Bulgarian декаде́нтство, упа́дък
  • декаде́нтство (dekadéntstvo)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 decay, deterioration
  • упа́дък (upádăk)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 decay, deterioration
Catalan decadència
  • decadènciaprocess 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 decay, deterioration
Chinese Mandarin 墮落 /堕落, 腐朽
  • 墮落 /堕落 (duòluò)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 decay, deterioration
  • 腐朽 (fǔxiǔ)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 decay, deterioration
  • 頹廢 /颓废 (tuífèi)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 decay, deterioration
Czech dekadence, úpadek
  • dekadenceprocess 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 decay, deterioration
  • úpadekprocess 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 decay, deterioration
Danish dekadence, forfald
  • dekadenceprocess 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 decay, deterioration
  • forfaldprocess 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 decay, deterioration
Esperanto dekadenco
  • dekadencoprocess 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 decay, deterioration
Finnish dekadentti aika, mädännäisyyden aika
  • dekadentti aikaage or period of time when art, literature, etc., is regarded as having declined
  • mädännäisyyden aikaage or period of time when art, literature, etc., is regarded as having declined
  • dekadenssiprocess 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 decay, deterioration
  • moraalinen mädännäisyysprocess 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 decay, deterioration
French décadence, décadentisme
  • décadenceprocess 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 decay, deterioration
  • décadentismeprocess 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 decay, deterioration
German Dekadenz
  • Dekadenzprocess 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 decay, deterioration
Greek κατάπτωση, κραιπάλη
  • κατάπτωση (katáptosi)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 decay, deterioration
  • κραιπάλη (kraipáli)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 decay, deterioration
Hindi गिरावट, ह्रास
  • गिरावट (girāvaṭ)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 decay, deterioration
  • ह्रास (hrās)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 decay, deterioration
  • ह्रासोन्मुखता (hrāsonmukhtā)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 decay, deterioration
  • क्षयिष्णुता (kṣayiṣṇutā)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 decay, deterioration
  • पतन (patan)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 decay, deterioration
Hungarian hanyatlás
  • hanyatlásprocess 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 decay, deterioration
Irish meath
  • meathprocess 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 decay, deterioration
Italian decadenza, decadentismo
  • decadenzaprocess 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 decay, deterioration
  • decadentismoprocess 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 decay, deterioration
Japanese デカダンス, 退廃
  • デカダンス (dekadansu)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 decay, deterioration
  • 退廃 (taihai)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 decay, deterioration
Korean 데카당스, 퇴폐
  • 데카당스 (dekadangseu)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 decay, deterioration
  • 퇴폐 (toepye)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 decay, deterioration
Lithuanian núosmukis
  • núosmukisprocess 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 decay, deterioration
Norwegian Bokmål dekadanse
  • dekadanseprocess 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 decay, deterioration
Portuguese decadência
  • decadênciaprocess 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 decay, deterioration
Romanian decadență
  • decadențăprocess 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 decay, deterioration
Russian декада́нс, декаде́нтство
  • декада́нс (dɛkadáns)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 decay, deterioration
  • декаде́нтство (dɛkadɛ́ntstvo)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 decay, deterioration
  • упа́дничество (upádničestvo)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 decay, deterioration
  • упа́дочничество (upádočničestvo)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 decay, deterioration
  • упа́док (upádok)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 decay, deterioration
Spanish decadencia
  • decadenciaprocess 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 decay, deterioration
Swedish dekadans, förfall
  • dekadansprocess 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 decay, deterioration
  • förfallprocess 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 decay, deterioration
Thai ความเสื่อมโทรม
  • ความเสื่อมโทรม (kwaam-sʉ̀ʉam-soom)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 decay, deterioration
Ukrainian декада́нс, декаде́нтство
  • декада́нс (dekadáns)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 decay, deterioration
  • декаде́нтство (dekadéntstvo)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 decay, deterioration
  • занепа́дництво (zanepádnyctvo)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 decay, deterioration
Cite this entry
APA

decadence. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/decadence

MLA

“decadence.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/decadence. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “decadence,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/decadence.

Source: decadence on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.