corrupt

[kuh-ruhpt]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR corrupt ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

guilty of dishonest practices, as bribery; lacking integrity; crooked: a corrupt judge.

debased in character; depraved; perverted; wicked; evil: a corrupt society.

made inferior by errors or alterations, as a text.

infected; tainted.

decayed; putrid.

verb (used with object)

to destroy the integrity of; cause to be dishonest, disloyal, etc., especially by bribery.

to lower morally; pervert: to corrupt youth.

to alter (a language, text, etc.) for the worse; debase.

to mar; spoil.

to infect; taint.

to make putrid or putrescent.

English Law. to subject (an attainted person) to corruption of blood.

verb (used without object)

to become corrupt.

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 formscor·rupt·ed·ly, adverbcor·rupt·ed·ness, nouncor·rupt·er, cor·rup·tor, nouncor·rup·tive, adjectivecor·rup·tive·ly, adverbcor·rupt·ly, adverbcor·rupt·ness, nounnon·cor·rupt, adjectivenon·cor·rupt·ly, adverbnon·cor·rupt·ness, nounnon·cor·rupt·er, nounnon·cor·rup·tive, adjectiveo·ver·cor·rupt, verb, adjectiveo·ver·cor·rupt·ly, adverbpre·cor·rupt, verb (used with object)pre·cor·rupt·ly, adverbpre·cor·rupt·ness, nounpre·cor·rup·tive, adjectiveun·cor·rupt, adjectiveun·cor·rupt·ly, adverbun·cor·rupt·ness, nounun·cor·rupt·ed, adjectiveun·cor·rupt·ed·ly, adverbun·cor·rupt·ed·ness, nounun·cor·rupt·ing, adjectiveun·cor·rup·tive, adjective

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

Related Words for corrupt

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

Examples from the Web for corrupt

Contemporary Examples of corrupt

So, is Rampal really that different from a corrupt, charismatic megachurch leader felled by scandal?
Is India’s Fallen ‘God-Man’ So Different From a Megachurch Pastor?
Jay Michaelson
November 21, 2014
That suggestion turns absurd when you consider the long list of corrupt Democrat politicians Lynch has sent to prison.
For Next AG, Obama Picks a Quiet Fighter With a Heavy Punch
Michael Daly
November 8, 2014
This corrupt bargain results in a decade-long stasis, with far-reaching implications.
Hate Hyper-Partisanship? Support Redistricting Reform Now
John Avlon
November 3, 2014
Preening, arrogant, vindictive, and inexorable; awash with cash; corrupt; in bed with corporate America and big finance.
Meet The Democrats’ Secret Savior Against Cuomo Corporatism
James Poulos
September 14, 2014
To the contrary, he had established a reputation for taking on corrupt political bosses and powerful corporations.
The GOP’s Last Identity Crisis Remade U.S. Politics
Michael Wolraich
July 24, 2014

Historical Examples of corrupt

Nevertheless, we will have it done, lest their bad example should corrupt the other hogs.
Tanglewood Tales
Nathaniel Hawthorne
Halloway is honest and clean, at least, while McCune is corrupt to the bone.
The Gentleman From Indiana
Booth Tarkington
The noble people will be nobly ruled, and the ignorant and corrupt ignobly.
Self-Help
Samuel Smiles
I "run down" the accountant because he was either ignorant or corrupt.
A Woman Intervenes
Robert Barr
The earth is corrupt, science only serves to show its rottenness.
Doctor Pascal
Emile Zola

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 Formscorrupter or corruptor, nouncorruptive, adjectivecorruptively, adverbcorruptly, adverbcorruptness, noun

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.

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.