corrupt

[ kuh-ruhpt ]

/ kəˈrʌpt /

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.

Nearby words

corrugated iron, corrugated paper, corrugation, corrugator, corrugator muscle, corrupt, corrupt practices act, corruptible, corruption, corruption of blood, 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.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR corrupt ON THESAURUS.COM

Related forms

cor·rupt·ed·ly, adverbcor·rupt·ed·ness, nouncor·rupt·er, cor·rup·tor, nouncor·rup·tive, adjective

cor·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

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

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|DAILY BEAST
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|DAILY BEAST
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|DAILY BEAST
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|DAILY BEAST

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|DAILY BEAST
In every part of the United States he had found a city in the clutch of a corrupt ring.
Once Upon A Time|Richard Harding Davis
One "adviser" arranges everything nicely in the interests of his country, and then what does the "corrupt" Chinese official do?
Peking Dust|Ellen N. La Motte
We have few cities to corrupt, and very little attempt at the education which makes shopkeepers and anarchists of honest men.
The Traitors|E. Phillips (Edward Phillips) Oppenheim
Will your lordships submit to hear the corrupt practices of mankind made the principles of Government?
Standard Selections|Various
As far as we can make out from an obscure style and a corrupt text, the following is the result arrived at.
Aristotle|George Grote

British Dictionary definitions for corrupt

corrupt

/ (kəˈrʌpt) /

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

corrupter or corruptor, nouncorruptive, adjectivecorruptively, adverbcorruptly, adverb

corruptness, 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 (1 of 2)

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.

Word Origin and History for corrupt (1 of 2)

corrupt

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.

corrupt

adjective

verb (used with object)

verb (used without object)

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Origin of corrupt

Synonym study

Examples from the Web for corrupt

British Dictionary definitions for corrupt

corrupt

adjective

verb

Word Origin for corrupt

Word Origin and History for corrupt (1 of 2)

corrupt

Word Origin and History for corrupt (1 of 2)

corrupt