depraved
Americanadjective
adjective
Synonym Usage
See immoral.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of depraved
Explanation
Depraved is the way to describe perverse behavior lacking moral decency. It's hard to be depraved when you spend your days defining words at your computer, but the mind does wander. Some would argue that morality is a subjective thing, so one man's depravity is another man's good time. Generally speaking, however, depraved is the "go-to word" when describing perverts and serial killers. Some rock stars seek out a depraved reputation, but it's mostly for show — they can be as dull as the rest of us.
Vocabulary lists containing depraved
Flowers for Algernon
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Just Mercy
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Bob Dylan Wins Nobel Prize in Literature
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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.
"And then Grok would generate the image," said Dixon, author of an upcoming book "Depraved", about dangerous art.
From Barron's • Jan. 23, 2026
Hang Up and Listen: The Watching Football Is Depraved Edition ’s sports podcast on baseball’s wild wild card races, the morality of watching the NFL, and the NHL lockout.
From Slate • Sep. 17, 2012
Elsewhere, there's Tom Wolfe's biting analysis of "radical chic" and Hunter S Thompson's notorious "The Kentucky Derby is Decadent and Depraved".
From The Guardian • Jul. 30, 2010
A book of 380 pages and 44 chapters, it covers the ponderous questions: Is Human Nature Incurably Depraved?
From Time Magazine Archive
Depraved, corrupt, and polluted presses exerted themselves to the utmost in the work of slander and detraction; hireling scribblers for worse than hireling presses glutted themselves and made their meals on good men's names.
From Slavery: What it was, what it has done, what it intends to do Speech of Hon. Cydnor B. Tompkins, of Ohio by Tompkins, Cydnor Bailey
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.
