corruption

[kuh-ruhp-shuhn]

noun

1. the act of corrupting or state of being corrupt.

   Antonyms: purity

2. moral perversion; depravity.

   Synonyms: immorality, dissolution
   Antonyms: purity

3. perversion of integrity.

   Antonyms: honesty, purity

4. corrupt or dishonest proceedings.

   Antonyms: honesty

5. bribery.

6. debasement or alteration, as of language or a text.

7. a debased form of a word.

8. putrefactive decay; rottenness.

   Synonyms: contamination, pollution, foulness, putrescence, putrefaction, rot

9. any corrupting influence or agency.

10. Computers.,  the state of being compromised by errors in computer code or stored data, or an action that causes such errors.

    The system crash was the result of previously undetected data corruption.

corruption

/ kəˈrʌpʃən /

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

Other Word Forms

• anticorruption noun
• overcorruption noun
• precorruption noun
• corruptionist noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of corruption¹

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English cor(r)upcio(u)n, from Middle French, from Latin corruptiōn-, stem of corruptiō; corrupt, -ion

Example Sentences

Chinese companies are outbidding Western rivals, thanks to generous state support and their skill in navigating developing countries, where corruption is often rampant.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Gen. Rob Bonta ponders a run for governor, he faces scrutiny for his ties to people central to a federal corruption investigation in Oakland and payments to private attorneys.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

The Truman administration didn’t therefore think corruption was any reason to give up on containing the Soviet Union.

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A corruption investigation is focusing on members of his cabinet and other political allies.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

It analyzes the forces of corruption and moral probity, capitalism and benevolence—all the rich contradictions and absurdities of the world glimpsed in Jane Austen’s novels.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• bribery 
• crime 
• exploitation 
• extortion 
• fraud 
• graft 
• malfeasance 
• nepotism 

When To Use

What does corruption mean?

Corruption most commonly refers to a state in which members of organizations or institutions are engaging in illegal or otherwise dishonest practices to benefit themselves.The term is most often used in the context of such rulebreaking by people who are powerful or who are responsible for the well-being of others, such as politicians, government officials, and police officers.Corruption is a noun form of corrupt, which can be an adjective used to describe people who act in this way (or their actions), or a verb meaning to destroy the integrity of someone or something or cause someone to be dishonest.More generally, corruption can refer to the act or process of someone or something becoming corrupt, depraved, or debased.More specifically, corruption can refer to the alteration of a word or text in a way that deviates from its original or intended form.Example: The investigation revealed a long history of corruption within the agency that extends to its highest ranks.