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dissoluto

dissolute, debauched

adjective dee-zoh-LOO-toh Rare

Origin: From Latin dissolutus, past participle of dissolvere ('to dissolve, to loosen').

Usage Note

Dissoluto describes a person living without moral restraint, given to excess and vice. It is famously echoed in the full title of Mozart's Don Giovanni (Il dissoluto punito). The feminine is dissoluta, plurals dissoluti/dissolute. It carries a formal or literary register; in everyday speech depravato or libertino are more common.

Examples

"Conduceva una vita dissoluta e senza regole."

Natural Translation

He led a dissolute and undisciplined life.

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