noun
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of depravity
Explanation
Depravity goes beyond mere bad behavior — it is a total lack of morals, values, and even regard for other living things, like the depravity of a serial killer. You can see the verb deprave in depravity. To deprave is to make something bad, often to the point of moral corruption, like the parental fear that a bad influence will deprave their good kids. So, depravity is behavior that is morally corrupt or otherwise deemed wicked. Don't confuse depravity with deprivation, meaning "being denied something that is necessary."
Vocabulary lists containing depravity
The Scarlet Letter
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Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass
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"Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave" Vocabulary from the autobiography
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Cavalcanti’s, no less brilliant in its execution, looks through the glass darkly, with painful scenes of long-ago squalor and depravity that sadly echo our own.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 11, 2026
She’s forthright with her interest in depravity, and as such, her films make no effort to conceal their degeneracies or shock the viewer.
From Salon • Feb. 23, 2026
The lust for vengeance eventually gets the better of him, but Swenson leads us step by step to depravity through sorrow, injustice and humiliation.
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 3, 2026
And one post-pardon case is already sticking out for sheer depravity.
From Salon • Apr. 25, 2025
Retaining our humanity, cherishing our heritage, we fought the depravity of the Nazis with subtle forms of resistance.
From "The Boy on the Wooden Box" by Leon Leyson
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
