I would like to know the word which best befits the opposite of "decadence"
antonime
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I would like to know the word which best befits the opposite of "decadence"
antonime
15%
15%'s style of postings a little like mine isent it. wink wink
:dry: reminds me more of I.N :ph34r:
n/m
Just showing my ignorance at the meaning of the word decadence :01:
SPEAK OF THE DEVIL :devil:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v9...ade/inews3.jpgQuote:
Originally Posted by bujub22
~~~nice dreams~~~ :ph34r:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...22/zoloft1.jpgQuote:
Originally Posted by Rick Phlegm
Quote:
Originally Posted by 15%
You really would have to use it in a sentence. Decadence can mean many things, depending on the context in which it is used.
:shuriken:
Shalashaska
As MN has noted, context and form mean everything; I will assay that you desire rather an antonym to the word decadent, which has the "debauched" meaning I'm betting you are after.
Decadence merely means (as closely I as I can come here) a state of decline; a quality of seediness.
Hope this helps.
Now, why didn't I think of that?Quote:
Originally Posted by JPaul
Mornin', JP. :)
Hope all's well?
Just so-Quote:
Originally Posted by JPaul
Your deftness is (as ever) admirable.
BTW-to be hidebound by logic can have the odd effect of widening the reactionist palette, I find.
Try it sometime when you feel a need to go forward rather than sideways. :P
I find myself in finer fettle than I deserve, according to some. :D
I am going to adjourn for a bit here, as I have before me the task of repairing a large box meant to reproduce sound at ear-splitting volumes.
I believe such undertakings are known as puttering, if memory serves.
It has been so long... :huh:
Dissolute is a fine old word meaning decadence and the opposite would be wholesome.
All Bran is wholesome
Therefore......
the opposite of decadence is unsweetened breakfast cereal with lots of roughage.
:blink:
Perhaps :shifty:
DISSOLUTE!!!Quote:
Originally Posted by Biggles
Yes!
How many times I have reached for that very word, only to grasp futilely!
And another gold-strike with your breakfast description...
...mighten't we call that (preventive) maintenance?
BTW-the box is fixed!
Anyone in the market for a finely kept set of Cerwin-Vega DX-9s? :)
Last night in a dinner "they" suddenly turned to me as the mainb "englishy" speaky oerson aty the table and asked me
What is the opposite word of decadence.
my brain jammed - i asked for a 2minuite think period - the only thing i came up with was analysis of what acually decadence was in the hope that the analysis would spark the solution.
It did not
Many happy hours later we went home - without the answer
so - i posted the question here after not finding a suitable answer on the web.
Today at another dinner (yes its Xmas) i was sitting next to a english toefl teacher and a Cambridge literature graduate.
I asked them the same question....(cause i still want to know)
the discussion that evolved penetrated the origin of the entire discussion of language in itself and for some weird reason ended with Jane Austen...wtf?
i think... the conclusion was stoicism - yet they both remained frustrated that there was not an easy answer.
wholesome is definetly not a righteous antonym for decadence
growth, vigor are definetly weak opposites
i leave this discussion unsatisfied
I have used the word decadent on here a few times.
I use it to mean something a little more luxuriant than self indulgent; looking upward only J'Pol hinted at the same.
I think that is the way in which is it most commonly used.
Making stoicism the perfect antonym.
Nicely argued, but wrong, nonetheless.Quote:
Originally Posted by manker
It is the precision of Mssr. Roget's definition that defies an easy answer-
We should endeavor to persevere!
I did glance at JP's link earlier but I posted the above because my definition is conspicuous by it's absence from that particular link. I have no doubt it can be found elsewhere, however.Quote:
Originally Posted by j2k4
You are seeking to complicate the problem.
The question was seeking the antonym which best befits the word decadence. Given that my definition is the most widely used, it is therefore the most suited.
Unless you can think of a reason why popularity should succumb to the esoteric in this case.
.
nonindulgent?
sensible?
I also like frugal or austere but stoic would be my choice :D
Virtueous, depending on decadence's usage. ;)
:shuriken:
personally i find virteous to close to decadence but still aplicable
Thank you all for your contributions and time in dealing with this decadent semantic problem
I would hereby like to conclude the most precise winners are
Stoic : Seeming unaffected by pleasure or pain; impassive
Ascetic :Pertaining to or characteristic of an ascetic or the practice of rigorous self-discipline
Spartan : Resolute in the face of pain or danger or adversity
---------------
on a side note
Decadent : Paris Hilton
-----------------
I most certainly do not seek to complicate the problem; I merely acknowledge that, while your admittedly elegant antonym suits fairly well, it is not perhaps as perfect as another might be, and so the problem remains, you see?Quote:
Originally Posted by manker
For example:
I find ascetic(-ism, in proper and equivalent form) to be reasonably accurate, but lacking the elegance of your stoicism, which, BTW, has always been a favorite of mine, antonymal propriety as re: decadence notwithstanding. :D
I am loathe to argue with Webster or Roget, in any case.
Ironically the word decadence is decadent initself as it has an excessive choice of vauge antonyms yet has no sense of responsibilty to anti-define itself
According to Microsoft Word it's "decency", maybe not perfect but nicely poetic: Decadence and Decency.
You actually seem to be agreeing with my assertion there, rather than your initial condemnation.Quote:
Originally Posted by j2k4
My point was that we should find the most common meaning of the word decadent and find an antonym to that given it would be the most fitting antonym due to it's popularity.
Previous to my post there had been all sorts of antonyms bandied about for definitions of decandent which haven't been used since the 1700s, no doubt ;)
I am willing to chat about the validity of my claim of the most common use of decadent, or that there may be a better antonym to this than stoic.
I feel that my method as to us finding the most fitting antonym is beyond question, however.
Why. They clearly have not facilitated matters for us in this case.Quote:
Originally Posted by j2k4
Betterment
By God, you're arguing with me... :lol:Quote:
Originally Posted by manker
Someday your resistance to my having you on will be sufficient, Manker. :)
In the meantime, it occurs to me that JPaul is absolutely correct, and I am chastened thus-
Are you, too? :P
Damnit :lol: :dry:
I seriously can never tell if you're joking or not :D
I think it is merely age and experience.Quote:
Originally Posted by manker
See, you have merely a large brain, I have a large old brain.
BTW-Have you noticed how JPaul likes to use the word sophistry alot?
He's made it nigh unto an art; practice makes perfect, I always say. :P
That's what I was going to post.. Do you people not use computers or something?? :frusty:Quote:
Originally Posted by SpatulaGeekGirl
1). Open Microsoft Word
2). Type decadence
3). Highlight text, click tools --> language --> Thesaurus.
Word will give you the meaning, synonyms, and an antonym.
:cool2:
Quote:
Originally Posted by JPaul
In your case, a more appropriate term would be "pickled" brain. Although pickling does make it more difficult to pilot the walker across the treacherous livingroom to the restroom, it does tend to lower our "entertainment" threshold.
I cordially invite you to charter membership in M.A.S.F.O.B.:Quote:
Originally Posted by JPaul
The Mutual Amiration Society For the Old-Brained :blink:
:D
I have to conceed, it does strike a chord. IRL I get accused of not having the full complement of common sense so maybe all shall be mine in the fullness of time.Quote:
Originally Posted by JPaul
Btw, J'Pol, I notice you frequently use the word specious. I imagine this is also for a reason akin to the one you cited above.
:D
Bloody gypos.
Sometimes it's necessary to consider the overall effect of the post, I often neglect to edit because of the unsightly watermark it leaves. Other times I just spell words incorrectly without noticing.
I shall be on the look out for other words that are particular to members. Cheese used panegyrical the other day and then explained what it meant in the same post, the impudent bar steward.
Just so-Quote:
Originally Posted by JPaul
Anyone that concerned with a watermark gets my vote. :D
And precisely where have you been?Quote:
Originally Posted by Mr JP Fugley
Had you seen fit to check in earlier, this dilemma might not have required quite so many posts to demonstrate it's insolubility.
Please work on your timing; next time we shant wait for you. ;)
Hope things are swell with you and yours, BTW. :D
This insolubility notwithstanding my solution, of course ;)
Picky, picky.Quote:
Originally Posted by manker
If you insist... :P