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To be decadent is to be in the process of decay, so a powerful nation may be said to be in a decadent stage if its power is fading. But the word is more often used to speak of moral decay. Ever since the Roman empire, we've tended to link Rome's fall to the moral decay of its ruling class, who indulged in extreme luxuries and unwholesome pleasures while providing the public with cruel spectacles such as the slaughter of the gladiators. But not everyone agrees on what moral decadence looks like (or even how it might have hastened the fall of Rome), though most people think it involves too many sensual pleasures—as, for instance, among the French and English poets and artists of the 1880s and ʼ90s called the Decadents. These days, for some reason, people have decided decadent is the way to describe rich chocolate cakes.
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Examples of decadent in a Sentence
Emily Burns, WWD, 22 Nov. 2024
Elsewhere, there are two jewel box bars: the speakeasy-style Punch Room, which features cozy wood paneling and a roaring fireplace, or the decadent Jade Room, a boutique 12-seater cocktail bar with veined marble walls and twinkling emerald lights.
—Liam Hess, Vogue, 21 Nov. 2024
Liv Dansky, Southern Living, 1 Nov. 2024
German chocolate pie is similar to its popular cake counterpart—but with all of the key ingredients combined into one decadent filling.
—Liv Dansky, Southern Living, 1 Nov. 2024
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Cite this Entry
“Decadent.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/decadent. Accessed 1 Dec. 2024.
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