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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.
Examples of decadent in a Sentence
Chicago Tribune, 14 Apr. 2025
Get The Recipe Chocolate Delight Surprise the holiday crowd with a decadent chocolate dessert that will bring back memories.
—Nellah Bailey McGough, Southern Living, 13 Apr. 2025
Lilah Ramzi, Vogue, 24 Apr. 2025
Black denim adds a goth feeling to pieces, while deep indigo feels royal and decadent.
—Angela Velasquez, Sourcing Journal, 23 Apr. 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Decadent.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/decadent. Accessed 28 Apr. 2025.
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