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debauch

Diction
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

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The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

A period of excessive indulgence, especially in drinking or pleasure-seeking.

Detailed Definition
In older literary English, debauch can mean a bout of wild excess, often with alcohol. Here it points to the man's heavy drinking and the self-destructive state that helped drive the poem's crisis.
Example
Example in poetry:
“A debauch of smuggled whisky” uses debauch for excessive, morally reckless indulgence; The noun can describe a bout of drinking, spending, violence, or sensory excess; “A debauch of neon and noise” transfers the term to an urban visual scene; Because it is judgmental diction, poets may use debauch to criticize luxury, addiction, or empire
Additional Notes
In the line quoted, debauch is a less common literary word for excess or drunken indulgence, so many readers may need to look it up.; Found in the poem, Suicide by William Ernest Henley
Also Known As
dissipation indulgence excess debauchery
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