debauchery

American  

[dih-baw-chuh-ree] / dɪˈbɔ tʃə ri /

noun

debaucheries plural

1. excessive indulgence in sensual pleasures; intemperance.

2. Archaic. seduction from duty, allegiance, or virtue.

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Usage

What does debauchery mean? Debauchery is behavior considered excessively decadent, indulgent, and depraved. It’s especially used to collectively refer to drug use, excessive drinking, promiscuous sex, and the kind of uninhibited activity that happens at wild parties. Debauchery has traditionally been used in a negative way by those who condemn it as immoral or sinful. But it is also used in a somewhat ironic way by those who engage in such activity to celebrate it or make it seem fun. Example: Hair metal bands in the ’80s were notorious for their backstage debauchery.

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• debaucheries
  plural

Etymology

Origin of debauchery

First recorded in 1635–45; debauch + -ery

Explanation

Debauchery is a noun meaning crazy partying and wild nights, usually accompanied by a lot of alcohol. So you probably don't want to engage in any kind of debauchery the night before an exam. Debauchery is all about indulging in some of life's pleasures — overindulging, in fact. It stems from the Middle French word debaucher, which means to “entice from work or duty.” So imagine workers being tempted from another day at the office by the promise of a wild bender in Vegas. Or college kids putting down the books and heeding the siren call of the frat party downstairs.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

debauchery debaucheries

“I had planned on having a wonderful time, get lost in the debauchery, degeneracy, but I discovered something else, deeper, more profound.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 11, 2026

De Palma paints pictures that don’t conflict so much as they coexist, like two sides of a coin — purity and debauchery, the real, politically sanctioned currencies of this country — fresh from the U.S.

From Salon ● Jul. 4, 2026

“Something a little more wholesome than the debauchery of downtown,” says John Ingram, chairman of the Ingram Industries conglomerate and owner of the pro-soccer team Nashville SC.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 15, 2026

Some students were saved from debauchery when school officials colored in a pair of pants on the goblin.

From Seattle Times ● Mar. 8, 2024

Dubbed the nation’s most eligible bachelor, Vanderbilt eschewed the debauchery that would have tempted other men fresh out of their teens and into a bottomless bank account.

From "Seabiscuit: An American Legend" by Laura Hillenbrand

The results, which ranged from strum-strumming stanzas to languorous rhythms, hinted at unimaginable pagan debaucheries, hymned the fashionable cause of freedom against tyranny.

From Time Magazine Archive

The U.S. is still a long way from the rugged debaucheries of Restoration England or the perfumed corruption of the Gallant Century in France.

From Time Magazine Archive

As the deadly bewilderments and debaucheries of recent history have shown, this problem is enough to tax to the limit the minds and energies that would propose to solve it.

From Time Magazine Archive

As the guardian of Soviet morality, junior grade, the Communist Party youth newspaper Komsomolskaya Pravda frequently berates students for hooliganism, debaucheries, or ideological lapses unworthy of Marxists.

From Time Magazine Archive

In early life he sought distinction by his debaucheries; and from the accounts of his biographer, it would seem, that he succeeded in becoming the most daring profligate in London.

From The American Quarterly Review, No. 17, March 1831 by Walsh, Robert

Related Words

• revelry
• seduction