fin de siècle
Era's twilight mood
Fin de siècle is French for "end of the century," used in English to evoke the cultural atmosphere of the late 1800s—a period marked by decadence, world-weariness, and artistic experimentation.
The term suggests both sophistication and decline: The novel captures a fin de siècle mood of exhausted elegance.
Though historically specific, it sometimes describes any era's twilight sensibility.
Pursuit of gratification
- excessSurplus beyond need
- indulgenceYielding to desire
- sensualityPursuit of physical pleasure
- opulenceShowy, abundant prosperity
ennui · languor · dissipation · moral decline · overindulgence · self-indulgence · absinthe · aestheticism
Of a prim era
- EdwardianOf early twentieth-century Britain
- turn-of-the-centuryTime near 1900 or 2000
- Gilded AgeLate 1800s American prosperity
- Art NouveauCurvilinear decorative movement, 1890s
Impressionism · Symbolism · Vienna Secession · Dreyfus Affair · suffragettes · 1890s · gaslight · Moulin Rouge
Diffuse, sourceless discomfort
- cynicismDistrust of human sincerity
- fatalismDoctrine of inevitable outcomes
- despairTotal absence of hope
- melancholySubdued, lasting sadness
anomie · nihilism · gloom · disillusionment · decline · degeneration · entropy · Schopenhauer
Curvilinear decorative movement, 1890s
- ornamentationDecorative additions to something
- floral motifsDecorative flower-inspired patterns
- peacockOrnate pheasant relative
- KlimtAustrian symbolist painter
Tiffany · Mackintosh · Gaudí · arabesques · gilding · Byzantine · Pre-Raphaelite · decorative arts
Intense prolonged craving
- melancholySubdued, lasting sadness
- longingIntense, persistent desire
- wistfulnessTender sadness for absence
- sentimentalityExcessive tender emotion
bittersweet · retrospection · bygone · yesteryear · golden age · lost innocence · autumn · twilight years
Energy from charged particles
- automobileSelf-propelled passenger conveyance
- telephoneVoice communication device
- phonographGrooved disc audio player
- cinematographEarly film projection device
X-rays · radioactivity · Eiffel Tower · World's Fair · underground railway · department stores · photography · telegraphs
hedonism
Pursuit of gratification
- excessSurplus beyond need
- indulgenceYielding to desire
- sensualityPursuit of physical pleasure
opulence · ennui · languor · dissipation · moral decline · overindulgence · self-indulgence · absinthe · aestheticism · world-weariness
Victorian
Of a prim era
- EdwardianOf early twentieth-century Britain
- turn-of-the-centuryTime near 1900 or 2000
- Gilded AgeLate 1800s American prosperity
Art Nouveau · Impressionism · Symbolism · Vienna Secession · Dreyfus Affair · suffragettes · 1890s · gaslight · Moulin Rouge · Montmartre
malaise
Diffuse, sourceless discomfort
- cynicismDistrust of human sincerity
- fatalismDoctrine of inevitable outcomes
- despairTotal absence of hope
melancholy · anomie · nihilism · gloom · disillusionment · decline · degeneration · entropy · Schopenhauer · twilight
Art Nouveau
Curvilinear decorative movement, 1890s
- ornamentationDecorative additions to something
- floral motifsDecorative flower-inspired patterns
- peacockOrnate pheasant relative
Klimt · Tiffany · Mackintosh · Gaudí · arabesques · gilding · Byzantine · Pre-Raphaelite · decorative arts · poster art
yearning
Intense prolonged craving
- melancholySubdued, lasting sadness
- longingIntense, persistent desire
- wistfulnessTender sadness for absence
sentimentality · bittersweet · retrospection · bygone · yesteryear · golden age · lost innocence · autumn · twilight years · fading beauty
electricity
Energy from charged particles
- automobileSelf-propelled passenger conveyance
- telephoneVoice communication device
- phonographGrooved disc audio player
cinematograph · X-rays · radioactivity · Eiffel Tower · World's Fair · underground railway · department stores · photography · telegraphs · typewriter
fin de sièclenew beginning
Chance to start again
fresh start · turn of the century · commencement · genesis · inauguration
fin de sièclerenaissance
Period of renewed vitality
rebirth · progressive era · belle époque · roaring twenties · youthful exuberance
fin de sièclegolden age
Period of peak prosperity
zenith · flowering · emergence · awakening · first blush
final, finally, finance, fins, finances, financial, finalize, financed, finalized