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definitions

corrupt

[kuh-ruhpt]
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adjective

verb (used with object)

verb (used without object)

to become corrupt.

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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
SYNONYMS FOR corrupt
1. false, untrustworthy. 3, 4. contaminated. 4, 5. putrescent, rotten, spoiled. 6. demoralize, bribe. 7. debase, vitiate. 10. contaminate, pollute, spoil, defile. 11. putrefy.
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Related forms

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
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper