Acquisitions and Acquisition-Related Contingent Consideration (Details Textual 1) (USD $) In Millions, unless otherwise specified	3 Months Ended
Mar. 29, 2014
Business Acquisition, Contingent Consideration [Line Items]
Maximum amount obligated to pay by Cadence	$ 11.8
Period over which consideration may be paid	25 months
Portion of amount of contingent consideration potential expense in future periods	$ 9.2

Business combination asset purchase contingent consideration maximum potential expense in future period.

No definition available.

Name:	cdns_BusinessCombinationAssetPurchaseContingentConsiderationMaximumPotentialExpenseInFuturePeriod
Namespace Prefix:	cdns_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	debit
Period Type:	duration