decadence means A state of moral or artistic decline or deterioration; decay. It carries an Arena rating of 1483, earned across 4 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, decadence ranks #143 of 25,264 for Qualifying, #2,350 of 14,448 for Most Incisive Words, #2,485 of 14,297 for Words That Escaped Their Books, #2,678 of 14,410 for Most Ponderous Words.
decadence is pronounced /ˈdɛkədəns/.
Why “decadence” is a great word
A state of moral or artistic decline characterized by luxurious, self-indulgent excess, from French décadence (early 15th century), from Medieval Latin decadentia (“decay”), from Latin decadere (“to fall down, decay”), first attested in English in the 1540s. Unlike “deterioration,” which notes a general wearing away, or “excess,” which merely quantifies overabundance, decadence is the specific, often beautiful corruption that follows a peak. It is the gilded banquet where no one eats, the poet’s cultivation of fever dreams, and the orchestra playing a perfect waltz as the ship begins to list. It is the conscious, cultivated sigh at the end of an era.
Etymology
From French décadence, from Medieval Latin decadentia (“decay”), from *decadens (“decaying”), present participle of *decadere (“to decay”); see decay.
noun
- A state of moral or artistic decline or deterioration; decay“"Stability, however, is not enough. It leads too easily to stagnation, and thence to decadence."”
- The quality of being luxuriously self-indulgent.“the decadence of a five-star hotel”
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