perverted

American  

[per-vur-tid] / pərˈvɜr tɪd /

adjective

1. Pathology. changed to or being of an unnatural or abnormal kind.

   a perverted interest in death.

2. turned from what is right; wicked; misguided; distorted.

3. affected with or caused by perversion.

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Other Word Forms

• nonperverted adjective
• nonpervertedly adverb
• pervertedly adverb
• pervertedness noun
• unperverted adjective
• unpervertedly adverb

Etymology

Origin of perverted

First recorded in 1660–70; pervert + -ed ²

Example Sentences

It’s the culture that’s skewered rather than those who adopt its perverted values.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 9, 2025

“That states do have the power to further their own agendas in very perverted ways.”

From Seattle Times • Apr. 10, 2024

"A man with the perverted and extremely dangerous views you hold should never be employed in the responsible position of a prison officer," he said.

From BBC • Aug. 31, 2023

That Romantic view of the German landscape would, a century later, be perverted by totalitarian ideology — a legacy taken up by the young Anselm Kiefer in his much-debated “Occupations” photographs, from 1969.

From New York Times • Apr. 20, 2023

Even if he did think she was a perverted psychopath who wrote herself badly punctuated threats.

From "Eleanor & Park" by Rainbow Rowell