Dictionary.com
definitions

corrupt

[kuh-ruhpt]
||
SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR corrupt ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

verb (used with object)

verb (used without object)

to become corrupt.

RELATED CONTENT

lamoRead more in this article about some frequently asked questions and fun facts related to our definitions.
READ MORE
Cankers, Caterpillars, and Malt-worms: 3 Shakespearean InsultsGreat insults pepper the comedies and tragedies of William Shakespeare. (Though the Bard of Avon is known for his terms of endearments as well.) From A Midsummer Night’s Dream to King Henry IV, here are a few of our favorites. You canker blossom! This flowery barb is delivered by the newly lovelorn Hermia in A Midsummer Night’s Dream after her beloved, Lysander, expresses his disinterest …
READ MORE

RELATED WORDS

unscrupulous, crooked, shady, rotten, fraudulent, nefarious, venal, unethical, untrustworthy, depraved, evil, boorish, harm, debase, violate, subvert, ruin, taint, warp, impair

Nearby words

  1. corrugated iron,
  2. corrugated paper,
  3. corrugation,
  4. corrugator,
  5. corrugator muscle,
  6. corrupt practices act,
  7. corruptible,
  8. corruption,
  9. corruption of blood,
  10. corruptionist

Origin of corrupt

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

Synonyms for corrupt

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR corrupt ON THESAURUS.COM
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 Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for corrupt

British Dictionary definitions for corrupt

corrupt

adjective

lacking in integrity; open to or involving bribery or other dishonest practicesa corrupt official; corrupt practices in an election
morally depraved
putrid or rotten
contaminated; unclean
(of a text or manuscript) made meaningless or different in meaning from the original by scribal errors or alterations
(of computer programs or data) containing errors

verb

to become or cause to become dishonest or disloyal
to debase or become debased morally; deprave
(tr) to infect or contaminate; taint
(tr) to cause to become rotten
(tr) to alter (a text, manuscript, etc) from the original
(tr) computing to introduce errors into (data or a program)
Derived Forms

Word Origin for corrupt

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
Word Origin and History for 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.

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