deprave

[dih-preyv]

See more synonyms for deprave on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object), de·praved, de·prav·ing.

to make morally bad or evil; vitiate; corrupt.
Obsolete. to defame.

Origin of deprave

1325–75; Middle English depraven (< Anglo-French) < Latin dēprāvāre to pervert, corrupt, equivalent to dē- de- + prāv(us) crooked + -āre infinitive suffix

Related formsdep·ra·va·tion

[dep-ruh-vey-shuh n] /ˌdɛp rəˈveɪ ʃən/, nounde·prav·er, nounde·prav·ing·ly, adverbnon·dep·ra·va·tion, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for depravation

wickedness, degradation, criminality, corruption, depravation, decline, downfall, atrophy, declination, decrease, debasement, downgrade, devolution, perversion, sensuality, profligacy, vice, iniquity, abandonment, baseness

Examples from the Web for depravation

Contemporary Examples of depravation

We can admit the intractability of depravation, and still strive for dignity.
Obama's Nobel Prize Acceptance Speech
Barack Obama
December 10, 2009

Historical Examples of depravation

When then, and where did the work of depravation take place?
The Causes of the Corruption of the Traditional Text of the Holy Gospels
John Burgon
Shelley was accountable for Harriett Westbrooks depravation.
The Real Shelley, Vol. II (of 2)
John Cordy Jeaffreson
It is a voluptuous excess in drink to the depravation of reason.
A Christian Directory (Volume 1 of 4)
Richard Baxter
So strange a depravation of manners proceeded from these causes.
The Works of John Dryden, Volume XVI. (of 18)
John Dryden
If it did suffer, it suffered through the moral nature, because depravation of the heart depraved the brain.
The Expositor's Bible:
Alfred Plummer

British Dictionary definitions for depravation

deprave

verb (tr)

to make morally bad; corrupt; vitiate
obsolete to defame; slander

Derived Formsdepravation (ˌdɛprəˈveɪʃən), noundepraver, noun

Word Origin for deprave

C14: from Latin dēprāvāre to distort, corrupt, from de- + prāvus crooked

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 depravation

deprave

late 14c., "corrupt, lead astray, pervert," from Old French depraver (14c.) or directly from Latin depravare "distort, disfigure;" figuratively "to pervert, seduce, corrupt," from de- "completely" (see de-) + pravus "crooked." Related: Depraved; depraving.