decadence
/ˈdɛkədəns/noun
decadence is spelled D-E-C-A-D-E-N-C-E: 9 letters and 3 syllables. It appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 34,504th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, decadence means “A state of moral or artistic decline or deterioration; decay” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of decadence is decadences.
How many letters and syllables are in decadence?
| Letters | 9: D-E-C-A-D-E-N-C-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 1 million words; the 34,504th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is decadence?
Decadence appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 34,504th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce decadence?
- UK /ˈdɛkədəns/
Decadence has 3 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-decadence.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of decadence
- decadences plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does decadence mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A state of moral or artistic decline or deterioration; decay
- 2
The quality of being luxuriously self-indulgent.
the decadence of a five-star hotel
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Decadence in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense state of moral or artistic decline or deterioration:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | décadence, décadentisme |
| German | Dekadenz |
| Portuguese | decadência |
| Spanish | decadencia |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does decadence come from?
From French décadence, from Medieval Latin decadentia (“decay”), from *decadens (“decaying”), present participle of *decadere (“to decay”); see decay.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).