1
as in degenerate
having lost forcefulness, courage, or spirit
social critics claimed that their culture had become decadent and weak
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
2
as in corrupt
having or showing lowered moral character or standards
opponents of gambling casinos claim that gambling is a decadent form of entertainment
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in luxurious
given to or marked by excessive gratification of one's desires
the impressionable heiress couldn't resist the decadent temptations of the jet-set life
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in pervert
a person who has sunk below the normal moral standard
avant-garde artists who were scorned by the bourgeoisie as talentless decadents
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in hedonist
a person whose life is devoted to luxury and sensual pleasures
a decadent who squandered her once considerable family fortune
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of decadent
Hamish Bowles, Vogue, 23 Mar. 2026
Pasta primavera, a 1970s classic tailored to the season’s harvest, is packed with produce and cloaked in a decadent cream sauce.
—Jesse Szewczyk, Bon Appetit Magazine, 23 Mar. 2026
Jessica Saari Christensen, Better Homes & Gardens, 25 Feb. 2026
The duo package includes milk chocolate squares with caramel filling and decadent 60-percent cacao dark chocolate ones.
—Michele Laufik, Martha Stewart, 9 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for decadent
Adjective
My table had Stephen Jones, the exquisite Francesca Hayward from the Royal Ballet, Lila Moss, and a few others, all conjuring up a flavor of those long-ago guests at a decadent bar.
—Hamish Bowles, Vogue, 23 Mar. 2026
Pasta primavera, a 1970s classic tailored to the season’s harvest, is packed with produce and cloaked in a decadent cream sauce.
—Jesse Szewczyk, Bon Appetit Magazine, 23 Mar. 2026
Noun
This decadent no-bake dessert takes just 25 minutes to assemble and calls upon instant pudding mix to get the job done quickly.
—Jessica Saari Christensen, Better Homes & Gardens, 25 Feb. 2026
The duo package includes milk chocolate squares with caramel filling and decadent 60-percent cacao dark chocolate ones.
—Michele Laufik, Martha Stewart, 9 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for decadent
Recent Examples of Synonyms for decadent
Adjective
-
In Osamu Dazai’s The Setting Sun, Kazuko despairs of the pain that her brother Naoji’s drug addiction and degenerate behavior have caused the family.—
Christine Smallwood,
Harpers Magazine,
24 Mar. 2026
-
The latest film from Polish filmmaker Jan Komasa follows a 19-year-old degenerate raver from London who, in the last gasp of an all-time bender, is kidnapped by Stephen Graham and chained up in the basement of a posh estate.—
Ryan Lattanzio,
IndieWire,
6 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
Smuggling — sometimes by rope, sometimes with the help of corrupt jail guards — has long been a problem at the troubled federal jail, which has been plagued by violence, horrific conditions and severe staffing shortages for years.—
John Annese,
New York Daily News,
29 Mar. 2026
-
No corrupt leader enriching himself and the Epstein class buddies.—
Diego Parrado,
Vanity Fair,
29 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
But the way Marchenko insists on drawing lines of uncomplicated beauty through the howling darkness of these songs gives his solitude a luxurious, almost decadent quality.—
Sadie Sartini Garner,
Pitchfork,
31 Mar. 2026
-
Striking new lights — inside and out — add to the visual appeal of a luxurious new interior and entirely new exterior.—
Mark Phelan,
Freep.com,
31 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Nora Ephron for depressed perverts.—
Antonia Blyth,
Deadline,
16 Feb. 2026
-
You are being spied on by a pervert.—
Jay Ruttenberg,
New Yorker,
11 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
All of the group’s hotels appeal to wellbeing-loving hedonists with a conscience—regular guests are predominantly female (around 60%).—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
20 Mar. 2026
-
The sequel strips Grace of what made her special and merely pays lip service to the first one’s worldview, representing the antagonists as generically incompetent hedonists.—
Michael Ordoña,
San Francisco Chronicle,
18 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
Scarf critics accuse the accessory—and by extension, its wearers—of being effete or affected.—
Eric Twardzik,
Robb Report,
1 Dec. 2025
-
What we’re left with is an effete description that exists for itself and doesn’t illuminate the character.—
Hannah Gold,
New Yorker,
29 Aug. 2025
Adjective
-
From there, your IT department can break down and analyze the data in any way that’s useful—tracking degradation along laptop generations, targeting particularly degraded units, identifying applications with heavy battery drain, and more.—
John Burek,
PC Magazine,
25 Mar. 2026
-
When a degraded grassland returns to health, the ground heaves up, as if inhaling with relief.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
25 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
On the sensual afro-pop fusion, produced by Daramola, the artists sing about connecting and desiring each other, and even wanting to have each other’s baby.—
Jessica Roiz,
Billboard,
27 Mar. 2026
-
All across what is probably the best pop album of all time, Michael got sexy, sensual, and introspective in equal measures.—
Jed Gottlieb,
Boston Herald,
26 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Decadent.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/decadent. Accessed 2 Apr. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
