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decadence

 - 3 dictionary results

dec⋅a⋅dence

  [dek-uh-duhns, di-keyd-ns]
Use decadence in a Sentence
–noun
1. the act or process of falling into an inferior condition or state; deterioration; decay: Some historians hold that the fall of Rome can be attributed to internal decadence.
2. moral degeneration or decay; turpitude.
3. unrestrained or excessive self-indulgence.
4. (often initial capital letter) the decadent movement in literature.
Also, dec⋅a⋅den⋅cy  [dek-uh-duhn-see, di-keyd-n-] .

Origin:
1540–50; < MF < ML dēcadentia, equiv. to LL dēcadent- (s. of dēcadēns), prp. of dēcadere to fall away (de- de- +cad(ere) to fall + -ent- -ent ) + -ia n. suffix; see -ence

Synonyms:
1. degeneration, retrogression, decline.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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dec·a·dence   (děk'ə-dəns, dĭ-kād'ns)   
n.  

  1. A process, condition, or period of deterioration or decline, as in morals or art; decay.

  2. often Decadence A literary movement especially of late 19th-century France and England characterized by refined aestheticism, artifice, and the quest for new sensations.


[French décadence, from Old French decadence, from Medieval Latin dēcadentia, a decaying, declining, from Vulgar Latin *dēcadere, to decay; see decay.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Encyclopedia

decadence

a period of decline or deterioration of art or literature that follows an era of great achievement. Examples include the Silver Age of Latin literature, which began about AD 18 following the end of the Golden Age, and the Decadent movement at the end of the 19th century in France and England.

Learn more about decadence with a free trial on Britannica.com.

Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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