roue
Definition
Noun: A roué is a man, particularly one in fashionable or high society, who is morally unrestrained and lives a life of excessive pleasure-seeking, often involving debauchery, drinking, and womanizing. The term implies a cynical, jaded, and dissipated character.
Usage
The word is used to describe a specific type of libertine or playboy, often from a historical or literary context, suggesting a man of some means and social standing who is devoted to sensual indulgence. * The aging roué spent his fortune on champagne, gambling, and courtesans. * In the novel, the protagonist is a charming but ultimately empty-hearted roué. * His reputation as a roué made him the subject of gossip in polite society.
Advanced Usage
- The term often carries a tone of moral judgment or critique from the narrator or observer, rather than being a neutral description.
- It is a somewhat archaic or literary word, evoking a specific image of 18th or 19th-century European decadence.
Variants and Related Words
- Rake (noun): A very close synonym, also meaning a fashionable or wealthy man of immoral conduct.
- Libertine (noun): A person, especially a man, who behaves without moral principles or a sense of responsibility, particularly in sexual matters.
- Debauchee (noun): A person given to excessive indulgence in sensual pleasures.
- Hedonist (noun): A person who believes that pleasure is the most important thing in life. (This is a broader, more philosophical term, while is more specifically tied to dissolute behavior.)
Synonyms
- Rake
- Libertine
- Debauchee
- Profligate
- Playboy (modern, less severe connotation)
- Womanizer
Antonyms
- Ascetic
- Puritan
- Prude
Noun
-
a dissolute man in fashionable society