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definitions

corruption

[kuh-ruhp-shuhn]
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noun
  1. the act of corrupting or state of being corrupt.
  2. moral perversion; depravity.
  3. perversion of integrity.
  4. corrupt or dishonest proceedings.
  5. bribery.
  6. debasement or alteration, as of language or a text.
  7. a debased form of a word.
  8. putrefactive decay; rottenness.
  9. any corrupting influence or agency.

Origin of corruption

1300–50; Middle English corrupcio(u)n (< Anglo-French) < Latin corruptiōn-, stem of corruptiō. See corrupt, -ion
Related formsan·ti·cor·rup·tion, noun, adjectiveo·ver·cor·rup·tion, nounpre·cor·rup·tion, noun

Synonyms for corruption

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2. dissolution, immorality. 8. rot, putrefaction, putrescence, foulness, pollution, contamination.

Antonyms for corruption

1–3. purity. 3, 4. honesty.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for corruption

fraud, nepotism, crime, exploitation, malfeasance, extortion, graft, bribery, atrocity, evil, degradation, pollution, demoralization, misrepresentation, shuffle, shadiness, venality, racket, payola, squeeze

Examples from the Web for corruption

Contemporary Examples of corruption

Historical Examples of corruption

  • The name is a Spanish corruption ofAshiwi, their own name for themselves.

    The Trail Book

    Mary Austin

  • And am I to be hurried along by this stream of corruption to infamy and oblivion!

  • This is a corruption of the old Norman-French word oyez, “hear ye.”

    English Villages

    P. H. Ditchfield

  • His children are shadows—their life a dance, a sickness, a corruption.

    A Dish Of Orts

    George MacDonald

  • By what I have ingenuously told you, you may see who began this corruption.

    Clarissa, Volume 3 (of 9)

    Samuel Richardson

British Dictionary definitions for corruption

corruption

noun
  1. the act of corrupting or state of being corrupt
  2. moral perversion; depravity
  3. dishonesty, esp bribery
  4. putrefaction or decay
  5. alteration, as of a manuscript
  6. an altered form of a word
Derived Formscorruptionist, noun
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 corruption
n.

mid-14c., of material things, especially dead bodies, also of the soul, morals, etc., from Latin corruptionem (nominative corruptio), noun of action from past participle stem of corrumpere (see corrupt). Of public offices from early 15c.; of language from late 15c.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper