Definition of Decadence

1. Noun. The state of being degenerate in mental or moral qualities.

Exact synonyms: Decadency, Degeneracy, Degeneration
Generic synonyms: Abasement, Abjection, Degradation
Derivative terms: Decadent, Decadent, Degenerate

Definition of Decadence

1. n. A falling away; decay; deterioration; declension. "The old castle, where the family lived in their decadence."

Definition of Decadence

1. Noun. A state of moral or artistic decline or deterioration; decay ¹

¹ Source: wiktionary.com

Definition of Decadence

1. [n -S]

Lexicographical Neighbors of Decadence

dec-
deca-
decaborane
decaboranes
decabromodiphenyl ether
decacerata
decachlorobiphenyl
decacyclic
decad
decadal
decadally
decade
decade-long
decade long
decadelong
decadence (current term)
decadences
decadencies
decadency
decadent
decadently
decadents
decades
decadeslong
decadic
decadic dialling
decadienal
decadiene
decadienes
decadist

Literary usage of Decadence

Below you will find example usage of this term as found in modern and/or classical literature:

1. Apollo: An Illustrated Manual of the History of Art Throughout the Ages by Salomon Reinach (1907)
"THE word decadence, when applied to art, must not be taken in too strict a sense. Art never declines so far as to return to its point of departure; ..."

2. The Bookman (1897)
"This is the sentence of his text : " As an admirer of Stevenson, Mr. Doxey is, of course, no disciple of decadence." Perhaps we should have said : " As an ..."

3. The Classical Heritage of the Middle Ages by Henry Osborn Taylor (1901)
"CHAPTER III PHASES OF PAGAN decadence THE fact that Christianity drew into its currents much of the intellectual strength of the fourth century may have ..."

4. The Classical Heritage of the Middle Ages by Henry Osborn Taylor (1911)
"On the other hand, the Greek and Latin races, apart from the Christian inspiration which was about to touch them, were in a state of decadence. ..."

5. A History of Criticism and Literary Taste in Europe from the Earliest Texts by George Saintsbury (1902)
"decadence OF ITALIAN CRITICISM—PAOLO BENI—POSSE VINO : HIS 'BIB- ... is due, on the decadence Part of the historian, neither to laziness, nor to love of ..."

6. Our Merchant Marine: How it Rose, Increased, Became Great, Declined and by David Ames Wells (1890)
"THE PERIOD OF decadence. The decadence of American Shipping not coincident ... These agencies simply helped on a decadence that had previously commenced, ..."

7. The Evolution of States: An Introduction to English Politics by John Mackinnon Robertson (1912)
"However we may dispute about the nature of progress, we all agree that this was decadence. Not even the Christian Greek, the least freethinking of educated ..."

8. The Substance of Gothic: Six Lectures on the Development of Architecture by Ralph Adams Cram (1917)
"In society, however, the decadence was very real, and its inception almost immediate. When, in 1270, St. Louis, " the very perfect king in ..."

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