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Perverse
5 dictionary results for: Perverse
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This
per·verse 
[per-vurs] Pronunciation Key
[per-vurs] Pronunciation Key –adjective
| 1. | willfully determined or disposed to go counter to what is expected or desired; contrary. |
| 2. | characterized by or proceeding from such a determination or disposition: a perverse mood. |
| 3. | wayward or cantankerous. |
| 4. | persistent or obstinate in what is wrong. |
| 5. | turned away from or rejecting what is right, good, or proper; wicked or corrupt. |
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
| per·verse
(pər-vûrs', pûr'vûrs') Pronunciation Key
adj.
[Middle English pervers, from Old French, from Latin perversus, past participle of pervertere, to pervert; see pervert.] per·verse'ly adv., per·verse'ness n. |
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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
perverse
perverse
c.1369, "wicked," from O.Fr. pervers, from L. perversus "turned away (from what is right), contrary, askew," pp. of pervertere "to corrupt" (see pervert). The L. word is glossed in O.E. by forcerred, from p.p. of forcyrran "to avoid," from cierran "to turn, return." Meaning "wrong, not in accord with what is accepted" is from c.1568; sense of "obstinate, stubborn" is from 1579. It keeps the non-sexual senses of pervert (v.) and allows the psychological ones to go with perverted.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This
| perverse | |
adjective | |
| 1. | marked by a disposition to oppose and contradict; "took perverse satisfaction in foiling her plans" |
| 2. | resistant to guidance or discipline; "Mary Mary quite contrary"; "an obstinate child with a violent temper"; "a perverse mood"; "wayward behavior" [syn: contrary] |
| 3. | deviating from what is considered moral or right or proper or good; "depraved criminals"; "a perverted sense of loyalty"; "the reprobate conduct of a gambling aristocrat" [syn: depraved] |
WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
Perverse
Fro"ward\, a. [Fro + -ward. See Fro, and cf. Fromward.] Not willing to yield or compIy with what is required or is reasonable; perverse; disobedient; peevish; as, a froward child. A froward man soweth strife. --Prov. xvi. 28. A froward retention of custom is as turbulent a thing as innovation. --Bacon. Syn: Untoward; wayward; unyielding; ungovernable: refractory; obstinate; petulant; cross; peevish. See Perverse. -- Fro"ward*ly, adv. -- Fro"ward*ness, n.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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