decadent

[ dek-uh-duhnt, dih-keyd-nt ]
See synonyms for decadent on Thesaurus.com
adjective
  1. characterized by decadence, especially culturally or morally: a decadent life of excessive money and no sense of responsibility.

  2. (often initial capital letter) of or like the decadents.

noun
  1. a person who is decadent.

  2. (often initial capital letter) one of a group of French and English writers of the latter part of the 19th century whose works were characterized by aestheticism, great refinement or subtlety of style, and a marked tendency toward the artificial and abnormal in content.

Origin of decadent

1
First recorded in 1830–40; back formation from decadence; see -ent

Other words for decadent

Other words from decadent

  • dec·a·dent·ly [dek-uh-duhnt-lee, dih-keyd-nt-], /ˈdɛk ə dənt li, dɪˈkeɪd nt-/, adverb
  • non·dec·a·dent, adjective, noun
  • o·ver·dec·a·dent, adjective
  • o·ver·dec·a·dent·ly, adverb
  • sem·i·dec·a·dent, adjective
  • sem·i·dec·a·dent·ly, adverb
  • un·dec·a·dent, adjective
  • un·dec·a·dent·ly, adverb

Words Nearby decadent

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use decadent in a sentence

  • He was that rare thing in a new land, a decadent, a connoisseur in vice, a lover of opiates and of liquor.

  • You must read your Latin authors well, for, since you must be decadent, it is better to decay from a good source.

    Sinister Street, vol. 1 | Compton Mackenzie
  • We still seem to detect the influence of a decadent, late Magdalenian style of ornament.

  • Here he became a friend of Grard de Nerval, who was of such influence on the later decadent school.

    Contes Franais | Douglas Labaree Buffum
  • This prince of the seventeenth century was the beau-ideal decadent that many modern novelists have delighted to depict.

    Court Beauties of Old Whitehall | W. R. H. Trowbridge

British Dictionary definitions for decadent

decadent

/ (ˈdɛkədənt) /


adjective
  1. characterized by decay or decline, as in being self-indulgent or morally corrupt

  2. belonging to a period of decline in artistic standards

noun
  1. a decadent person

  2. (often capital) one of a group of French and English writers of the late 19th century whose works were characterized by refinement of style and a tendency towards the artificial and abnormal

Derived forms of decadent

  • decadently, adverb

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012