pervert

[verb per-vurt; noun pur-vert]

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verb (used with object)

to affect with perversion.
to lead astray morally.
to turn away from the right course.

to lead into mental error or false judgment.
to turn to an improper use; misapply.
to misconstrue or misinterpret, especially deliberately; distort: to pervert someone's statement.
to bring to a less excellent state; vitiate; debase.
Pathology. to change to what is unnatural or abnormal.
to convert or persuade to a religious belief regarded as false or wrong.

noun

a person who practices sexual perversion.
Pathology. a person affected with perversion.
a person who has been perverted, especially to a religious belief regarded as erroneous.

Origin of pervert

1300–50; (v.) Middle English perverten < Latin pervertere to overturn, subvert, equivalent to per- per- + vertere to turn; (noun) noun use of obsolete pervert perverted

Related formsper·vert·er, nounper·vert·i·ble, adjectiveper·vert·i·bil·i·ty, nounper·vert·i·bly, adverbnon·per·vert·i·ble, adjective

Synonyms for pervert

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2. seduce, corrupt, demoralize. 3. divert. 4. mislead, misguide. 7. pollute, defile; impair, degrade.

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

Related Words for pervert

weirdo, deviant, debase, distort, warp, desecrate, vitiate, misinterpret, misrepresent, falsify, misconstrue, freak, deviate, degenerate, debauchee, color, debauch, fake, corrupt, cut

Examples from the Web for pervert

Contemporary Examples of pervert

The All Quiet on the Pervert Front has led photo-sharers on Reddit and 4chan to declare “The Fappening” dead.
‘The Fappening’ Is Dead: From A-List Hacking Victims to D-Listers Accused of Leaking Nudes For PR
Marlow Stern
October 18, 2014
In keeping with the raucous nature of his tabloid scandal, one person shouted “Pervert!”
Weiner’s Last Words
Howard Kurtz
June 16, 2011

British Dictionary definitions for pervert

pervert

verb (pəˈvɜːt) (tr)

to use wrongly or badly
to interpret wrongly or badly; distort
to lead into deviant or perverted beliefs or behaviour; corrupt
to debase

noun (ˈpɜːvɜːt)

a person who practises sexual perversion

Derived Formsperverter, nounpervertible, adjective

Word Origin for pervert

C14: from Old French pervertir, from Latin pervertere to turn the wrong way, from per- (indicating deviation) + vertere to turn

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 pervert

c.1300 (transitive), "to turn someone aside from a right religious belief to a false or erroneous one," from Old French pervertir "pervert, undo, destroy" (12c.) and directly from Latin pervertere "overthrow, overturn," figuratively "to corrupt, subvert, abuse," literally "turn the wrong way, turn about," from per- "away" (see per) + vertere "to turn" (see versus).

Related: Perverted; perverting. Replaced native froward, which embodies the same image. Old English had mishweorfed "perverted, inverted," an identical formation to the Latin word using native elements.

1660s, "one who has forsaken a doctrine or system regarded as true, apostate," from pervert (v.). Psychological sense of "one who has a perversion of the sexual instinct" is attested from 1897 (Havelock Ellis), originally especially of homosexuals.