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

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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. 2018

Related Words for corrupted

depraved, perverted

Examples from the Web for corrupted

Contemporary Examples of 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
And its mean-hearted message, in my opinion, has corrupted the social gospel.
Dear Evangelicals: You’re Being Had
Jay Michaelson
November 30, 2014
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
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
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

Historical Examples of corrupted

I am secure in one of the wench's qualities however—she is not to be corrupted.
Clarissa, Volume 3 (of 9)
Samuel Richardson
Your people have steadily destroyed and corrupted my people.
Changing Winds
St. John G. Ervine
Where the flour is corrupted, the use of it in every other article of food, will of course be as unwholesome as in that of bread.
The Cook and Housekeeper's Complete and Universal Dictionary; Including a System of Modern Cookery, in all Its Various Branches,
Mary Eaton
You have corrupted my son's mind, and encouraged him to insult his mother.
The Stark Munro Letters
J. Stark Munro
But the judge controls mind by mind; and therefore his mind should not be corrupted by crime.
The Republic
Plato

British Dictionary definitions for corrupted

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 corrupted

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.

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.