The state of being decadent; moral or cultural decline and decay, especially involving excessive luxury.
From 'decadent' + '-cy' (suffix forming abstract nouns). This noun derives from the Latin 'decadere' (to fall away), originally describing the fall of Rome and later applied to any cultural or moral decline marked by excess.
The concept of 'decadence' fascinated 19th-century artists and writers so much that they actually celebrated it—the Decadent Movement made corruption and decay artistically fashionable, which is kind of the opposite of what the word usually means.
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