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corrupt

[kuh-ruhpt] /kəˈrʌpt/
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adjective
1.
guilty of dishonest practices, as bribery; lacking integrity; crooked:
a corrupt judge.
2.
debased in character; depraved; perverted; wicked; evil:
a corrupt society.
3.
made inferior by errors or alterations, as a text.
4.
infected; tainted.
5.
decayed; putrid.
verb (used with object)
6.
to destroy the integrity of; cause to be dishonest, disloyal, etc., especially by bribery.
7.
to lower morally; pervert:
to corrupt youth.
8.
to alter (a language, text, etc.) for the worse; debase.
9.
to mar; spoil.
10.
to infect; taint.
11.
to make putrid or putrescent.
12.
English Law. to subject (an attainted person) to corruption of blood.
verb (used without object)
13.
to become corrupt.
Origin of corrupt
Middle English
Anglo-French
Latin
1250-1300
1250-1300; Middle English (< Anglo-French) < Latin corruptus broken in pieces, corrupted (past participle of corrumpere), equivalent to cor- cor- + rup- (variant stem of rumpere to break) + -tus past participle suffix
Related forms
corruptedly, adverb
corruptedness, noun
corrupter, corruptor, noun
corruptive, adjective
corruptively, adverb
corruptly, adverb
corruptness, noun
noncorrupt, adjective
noncorruptly, adverb
noncorruptness, noun
noncorrupter, noun
noncorruptive, adjective
overcorrupt, verb, adjective
overcorruptly, adverb
precorrupt, verb (used with object)
precorruptly, adverb
precorruptness, noun
precorruptive, adjective
uncorrupt, adjective
uncorruptly, adverb
uncorruptness, noun
uncorrupted, adjective
uncorruptedly, adverb
uncorruptedness, noun
uncorrupting, adjective
uncorruptive, adjective
Synonyms
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1. false, untrustworthy. 3, 4. contaminated. 4, 5. putrescent, rotten, spoiled. 6. demoralize, bribe. 7. debase, vitiate. 10. contaminate, pollute, spoil, defile. 11. putrefy.
Synonym Study
1.Corrupt, dishonest, venal apply to one, especially in public office, who acts on mercenary motives, without regard to honor, right, or justice. A corrupt politician is one originally honest who has succumbed to temptation and begun questionable practices. A dishonest politician is one lacking native integrity. A venal politician is one so totally debased as to sell patronage.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2017.
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Examples from the Web for corruptness
Historical Examples

  • I grow so tired of all this talk about the corruptness of the Chinese!

    Peking Dust Ellen N. La Motte

  • The still darker side of the government can be seen when the ignorance and corruptness of the official class are brought to light.

    Government in Republican China Paul Myron Anthony Linebarger

  • She denounced the corruptness of the monks and clergy with a vigour which delighted their enemies.

    Curiosities of Christian History Croake James

  • Hence, the corruptness and hollowness of all official transactions and political life.

    The Group Mind William McDougall

  • But seeing the corruptness of the world, even gratitude is nowadays reckoned among the virtues.

    The Gtakaml rya Sra

  • The editors of Aristotle complain of the corruptness of his text; a far worse corruptness lies behind.

    Practical Essays Alexander Bain
British Dictionary definitions for corruptness

corrupt

/kəˈrʌpt/
adjective
1.
lacking in integrity; open to or involving bribery or other dishonest practices: a corrupt official, corrupt practices in an election
2.
morally depraved
3.
putrid or rotten
4.
contaminated; unclean
5.
(of a text or manuscript) made meaningless or different in meaning from the original by scribal errors or alterations
6.
(of computer programs or data) containing errors
verb
7.
to become or cause to become dishonest or disloyal
8.
to debase or become debased morally; deprave
9.
(transitive) to infect or contaminate; taint
10.
(transitive) to cause to become rotten
11.
(transitive) to alter (a text, manuscript, etc) from the original
12.
(transitive) (computing) to introduce errors into (data or a program)
Derived Forms
corrupter, corruptor, noun
corruptive, adjective
corruptively, adverb
corruptly, adverb
corruptness, noun
Word Origin
C14: from Latin corruptus spoiled, from corrumpere to ruin, literally: break to pieces, from rumpere to break
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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Word Origin and History for corruptness

corrupt

adj.

mid-14c., from Old French corropt "unhealthy, corrupt; uncouth" (of language), and directly from Latin corruptus, past participle of corrumpere "to destroy; spoil," figuratively "corrupt, seduce, bribe," from com-, intensive prefix (see com-), + rup-, past participle stem of rumpere "to break" (see rupture (n.)). Related: Corruptly; corruptness.

corrupt

v.

mid-14c., "contaminate, impair the purity of," from Latin corruptus, past participle of corrumpere (see corrupt (adj.)). Late 14c. as "pervert the meaning of," also "putrefy." Related: Corrupted; corrupting.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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