fin de siècle
/ˌfæn də siˈɛklə/
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.27 in modern English
16
Scrabble Score
11
Letters
1
Syllables
9
Unique Chars
Meaning
adj
Pertaining to the close of the 19th century, usually suggesting a literary and artistic climate of modernism, world-weariness, and self-indulgence.
adj
Pertaining to the close of the 20th (or any other) century.
Example Sentences
- "The fin-de-siècle phenomenon has, of course, received considerable attention from historians in the recent past—a testament to its appeal. […] They also tend to concentrate on individual as well as social alienation as particularly characteristic of the fin-de-siècle feeling."
- "And, Dag, have you ever noticed that your bungalow looks more like it belongs to a pair of Eisenhower era Allentown, Pennsylvania newlyweds than it does to a fin de siècle existentialist poseur?"
- "From these conversations, most of which took place on the condition of anonymity to speak freely, a picture emerged in which America's closest allies are looking on with a kind of stunned incomprehension, unsure of what will happen, what it means, and what they should do, largely bound together with angst and a shared sense, as one influential adviser told me, that America and the West are approaching something of a fin de siècle."
Etymology
Origin
- Source language: French