decadence
Opulent moral rot
Decadence is moral or cultural decline, especially one marked by excessive indulgence in pleasure.
The word often describes societies or periods seen as having abandoned earlier virtues: the decadence of late Rome, fin-de-siècle decadence.
In everyday use, decadence suggests luxurious self-indulgence without the moral judgment: the decadence of a chocolate lava cake.
The adjective is decadent.
Pursuit of enjoyment
- sensualityPursuit of physical pleasure
- debaucheryExtreme indulgence in vices
- libertinismUnrestrained indulgence in pleasure
- sybaritismPursuit of luxury
epicureanism · voluptuousness · carnality · licentiousness · revelry · dissipation · carousing · orgy
Excessive consumption or enjoyment
- extravaganceExcessive, wasteful spending
- indulgenceYielding to desire
- gluttonyGreedy excess in consumption
- profligacyReckless, wasteful extravagance
immoderation · self-indulgence · surfeit · wastefulness · overconsumption · exorbitance · prodigality · squandering
Progressive loss of function
- deteriorationProcess of declining quality
- downfallSudden loss of power
- corruptionDishonest abuse of power
- collapseSudden structural failure
degradation · dissolution · disintegration · decaying · fall · ruin · waning · atrophy
Showy, abundant prosperity
- lavishnessExcessive richness or abundance
- sumptuousnessExtreme costly elegance
- extravaganceExcessive, wasteful spending
- richnessState of abundance
splendor · grandeur · affluence · gilt · champagne · caviar · velvet · silk
Valuing beauty above ethics
- fin-de-siècleCentury's closing period
- symbolismRepresenting concepts through images
- rococoExcessively elaborate in style
- baroqueExcessively ornate or elaborate
Baudelaire · Wilde · ornamental · florid · overwrought · gilded · elaborate · romanticism
pleasure-seeking
Pursuit of enjoyment
- sensualityPursuit of physical pleasure
- debaucheryExtreme indulgence in vices
- libertinismUnrestrained indulgence in pleasure
sybaritism · epicureanism · voluptuousness · carnality · licentiousness · revelry · dissipation · carousing · orgy · bacchanalia
overindulgence
Excessive consumption or enjoyment
- extravaganceExcessive, wasteful spending
- indulgenceYielding to desire
- gluttonyGreedy excess in consumption
profligacy · immoderation · self-indulgence · surfeit · wastefulness · overconsumption · exorbitance · prodigality · squandering · intemperance
degeneration
Progressive loss of function
- deteriorationProcess of declining quality
- downfallSudden loss of power
- corruptionDishonest abuse of power
collapse · degradation · dissolution · disintegration · decaying · fall · ruin · waning · atrophy · erosion
opulence
Showy, abundant prosperity
- lavishnessExcessive richness or abundance
- sumptuousnessExtreme costly elegance
- extravaganceExcessive, wasteful spending
richness · splendor · grandeur · affluence · gilt · champagne · caviar · velvet · silk · truffles
aestheticism
Valuing beauty above ethics
- fin-de-siècleCentury's closing period
- symbolismRepresenting concepts through images
- rococoExcessively elaborate in style
baroque · Baudelaire · Wilde · ornamental · florid · overwrought · gilded · elaborate · romanticism · gothic
- indulgenceindulgence, indulge, indulgent, self-indulgent, overindulgence
- Las Vegascasino, slot machine, gambling, blackjack, poker
- luxuryluxury, wealth, luxurious, opulent, opulence
- opulenceluxury, wealth, affluence, extravagance, opulence
- ornateornate, elaborate, embellished, decorative, ornamental
- indulgencesindulgence, indulgences, chocolate cake, overindulgence, massage
decadencevirtue
Moral goodness or merit
morality · righteousness · integrity · goodness · uprightness
decadenceflourishing
Prospering vigorously
rise · ascent · renaissance · growth · flowering
decadenceausterity
Enforced economic stringency
asceticism · restraint · self-discipline · simplicity · frugality
- Roman decadenceAncient empire's corrupt luxury