corruption

[ kuh-ruhp-shuhn ]

noun

1. the act of corrupting or state of being corrupt.

   Antonyms: purity

2. moral perversion; depravity.

   Synonyms: immorality, dissolution

   Antonyms: purity

3. perversion of integrity.

   Antonyms: honesty, purity

4. corrupt or dishonest proceedings.

   Antonyms: honesty

5. bribery.
6. debasement or alteration, as of language or a text.
7. a debased form of a word.
8. putrefactive decay; rottenness.

   Synonyms: putrescence, contamination, pollution, foulness, putrefaction, rot

9. any corrupting influence or agency.
10. Computers. the state of being compromised by errors in computer code or stored data, or an action that causes such errors:

    The system crash was the result of previously undetected data corruption.

corruption

/ kəˈrʌpʃən /

noun

1. the act of corrupting or state of being corrupt
2. moral perversion; depravity
3. dishonesty, esp bribery
4. putrefaction or decay
5. alteration, as of a manuscript
6. an altered form of a word

Derived Forms

• corˈruptionist, noun

Other Words From

• anti·cor·ruption noun adjective
• over·cor·ruption noun
• precor·ruption noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of corruption¹

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English cor(r)upcio(u)n, from Middle French, from Latin corruptiōn-, stem of corruptiō; corrupt, -ion

Example Sentences

She is the author of Dirty Entanglements: Corruption, Crime and Terrorism (Cambridge University Press).

From The Daily Beast

Islamic State brought “peace, autonomy, zero corruption, low crime-rate,” he Tweeted last month.

From The Daily Beast

The stench of corruption is settling over world soccer like a poisonous fog, and players are paying the price.

From The Daily Beast

Both Rezko and Blagojevich have since been convicted on unrelated federal corruption charges.

From The Daily Beast

The ruling also cleared Mubarak along with his sons, Alaa and Gamal, of corruption charges relating to the sale of gas to Israel.

From The Daily Beast

The mangled bodies were hurried to the catacombs, and thrown into an indiscriminate heap of corruption.

From Project Gutenberg

One of them was the late Secretary of the Treasury, Guy, who had been turned out of his place for corruption.

From Project Gutenberg

In Castile was ostentatiously displayed and lavishly spent great fortunes made in remote provinces by oppression and corruption.

From Project Gutenberg

Its origin is involved in obscurity: but may it not be a corruption of the Latin ambages, or the singular ablative ambage?

From Project Gutenberg

Amid the disintegration of society it was the sole conservative element—the salt which preserved it from corruption.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• bribery
• crime
• exploitation
• extortion
• fraud
• graft
• malfeasance
• nepotism