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.

RELATED WORDS

depraved, perverted

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 corrupted

That could include private financial or personal information—like the credit-card numbers you used to pay for the corrupted Wi-Fi.
How ‘Ethical’ Hotel Chain Marriott Gouges Guests in the Name of Wi-Fi Security|Kyle Chayka|December 31, 2014|DAILY BEAST
And its mean-hearted message, in my opinion, has corrupted the social gospel.
Dear Evangelicals: You’re Being Had|Jay Michaelson|November 30, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Almost like examining every game developer and game publication for signs of being “corrupted by the feminist agenda.”
Of Gamers, Gates, and Disco Demolition: The Roots of Reactionary Rage|Arthur Chu|October 16, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Anyone who can't see how corrupted our polices are by the arms-dealer front group known as the NRA isn't looking very hard.
9-Year Old With an Uzi? America Is Tougher on Toys Than Guns|Cliff Schecter|August 28, 2014|DAILY BEAST

And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth.
The Story of Noah's Ark From the Bible’s Book of Genesis|The Daily Beast|March 24, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Religion, say these, was corrupted a little after His death, and remained in that state of corruption about sixteen hundred years.
Letters on England|Voltaire
She would never have entered into these secret doings and plottings if you had not corrupted her.
Fan|W.H. Hudson (AKA Henry Harford)
After that, with groping and smelling they came near to the faecal matter and the corrupted humours.
Gargantua and Pantagruel, Complete.|Francois Rabelais
The noble word has recently become Germanized 25 and corrupted, and is now hardly more than a piece of educational slang.
The Teacher|George Herbert Palmer
Turrald is the corrupted form, doubtless due to early Saxon difficulties with Norman names.
The Moon Rock|Arthur J. Rees

British Dictionary definitions for corrupted

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 corrupted (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 corrupted (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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RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

Origin of corrupt

Synonym study

Examples from the Web for corrupted

British Dictionary definitions for corrupted

corrupt

adjective

verb

Word Origin for corrupt

Word Origin and History for corrupted (1 of 2)

corrupt

Word Origin and History for corrupted (1 of 2)

corrupt