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turpitude

[ tur-pi-tood, -tyood ]
/ ˈtɜr pɪˌtud, -ˌtyud /
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noun

vile, shameful, or base character; depravity.
a vile or depraved act.

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RELATED WORDS

baseness, immorality, vice, perversion, debauchery, degradation, licentiousness, evil, debasement, lewdness, corruption, wickedness, criminality, vileness, sinfulness, improbity

Nearby words

  1. turpentine,
  2. turpentine tree,
  3. turpeth,
  4. turpin,
  5. turpin, dick,
  6. turps,
  7. turquoise,
  8. turquoise green,
  9. turret,
  10. turret lathe

Origin of turpitude

1480–90; < Latin turpitūdō, equivalent to turpi(s) base, vile + -tūdō -tude
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for turpitude

British Dictionary definitions for turpitude

turpitude

/ (ˈtɜːpɪˌtjuːd) /

noun

base character or action; depravity

Word Origin for turpitude

C15: from Latin turpitūdō ugliness, from turpis base
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 turpitude

turpitude

n.

"depravity, infamy," late 15c., from Middle French turpitude (early 15c.), from Latin turpitudinem (nominative turpitudo) "baseness," from turpis "vile, ugly, base, shameful," used in both the moral and the physical senses; of unknown origin. Perhaps originally "what one turns away from" (cf. Latin trepit "he turns").

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper