subvert
Americanverb (used with object)
verb
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to bring about the complete downfall or ruin of (something existing or established by a system of law, etc)
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to undermine the moral principles of (a person, etc); corrupt
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Conjugated Forms
Present
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have subvertedperfect
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has subvertedperfect 3rd person singular
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has been subvertingperfect progressive 3rd person singular
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are subvertingprogressive
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is subvertingprogressive 3rd person singular
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have been subvertingperfect progressive
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subvertssingular 3rd person
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am subvertingprogressive 1st person singular
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subvertingparticiple
Past
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had subvertedperfect
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were subvertingprogressive plural
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was subvertingprogressive singular
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subvertedsimple
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subvertedparticiple
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had been subvertingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of subvert
1325–75; Middle English subverten < Latin subvertere to overthrow, equivalent to sub- sub- + vertere to turn
Explanation
When you subvert something, your words or actions criticize or undermine the usual way of doing something or common values. The girl who wears a tuxedo to the prom might subvert traditional ideas about beauty. To subvert an institution like a school or a government is to overthrow it or stop its normal way of functioning. Subvert comes from the Latin word subvertere, which combines the prefix sub, under, and the suffix vertere, to turn. So you can imagine something that subverts as overturning or flipping the usual way of doing things, like a student who subverts a teacher's authority, causing chaos in the classroom.
Vocabulary lists containing subvert
Educated
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Declaration and Resolves of the First Continental Congress
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Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., "Beyond Vietnam" (1967)
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
“This series deserves a final season that makes sense. Subvert my expectations and make it happen, HBO!”
From Salon • May 15, 2019
As far as the flag and the Empire are concerned, it might be subtitled To Subvert Them All My Days or The Devil Is a Welshman.
From Time Magazine Archive
Subvert, sub-vėrt′, v.t. to turn upside down: to overthrow from the foundation: to ruin utterly: to corrupt.—n.
From Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 4 of 4: S-Z and supplements) by Various
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
