subvert

[ suhb-vurt ]

verb (used with object)

1. to overthrow (something established or existing).

   Synonyms: sabotage, overturn, undermine, disrupt, upset

2. to cause the downfall, ruin, or destruction of.
3. to undermine the principles of; corrupt.

subvert

/ səbˈvɜːt /

verb

1. to bring about the complete downfall or ruin of (something existing or established by a system of law, etc)
2. to undermine the moral principles of (a person, etc); corrupt

Derived Forms

• subˈverter, noun

Other Words From

• sub·verter noun
• unsub·verted adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of subvert¹

1325–75; Middle English subverten < Latin subvertere to overthrow, equivalent to sub- sub- + vertere to turn

Word History and Origins

Origin of subvert¹

C14: from Latin subvertere to overturn, from sub- from below + vertere to turn

Example Sentences

Yet Republicans will try to subvert the success by playing to their Obama-hating base.

From The Daily Beast

Liu was convicted under Section 105 of the criminal code, or “incitement to subvert state power.”

From The Daily Beast

FRC, he added, works through the political system rather than encouraging its members to subvert it.

From The Daily Beast

A stronger al Qaeda in Yemen could help subvert Saudi Arabia and the other gulf states.

From The Daily Beast

Taken this way, revelers might be doing their best to subvert the manly paradigm.

From The Daily Beast

Their evident desire, he thought, was to subvert the English Government, and ‘set up their own wickedness.’

From Project Gutenberg

The opposition charged the government with a desire to subvert the constitution of Jamaica, and to tyrannize over the colonists.

From Project Gutenberg

And a plan of Society which each member of Society is striving to subvert is doomed from its birth.

From Project Gutenberg

He was accused of high treason, in endeavoring to subvert the fundamental laws, and of other high crimes and misdemeanors.

From Project Gutenberg

But deductive logic is the creation of Aristotle; and it was the authority of Aristotle that Bacon sought to subvert.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• corrupt
• debase
• overthrow
• overturn
• pervert
• poison
• sabotage
• supersede
• suppress
• topple
• undermine
• vitiate