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deprave - 4 dictionary results

de⋅prave

  [di-preyv]
Use deprave in a Sentence
–verb (used with object), -praved, -prav⋅ing.
1. to make morally bad or evil; vitiate; corrupt.
2. Obsolete. to defame.
Origin:
1325–75; ME depraven (< AF) < L dēprāvāre to pervert, corrupt, equiv. to dē- de- + prāv(us) crooked + -āre inf. suffix

Related forms:
dep⋅ra⋅va⋅tion  [dep-ruh-vey-shuhn] , noun
de⋅prav⋅er, noun
de⋅prav⋅ing⋅ly, adverb
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To deprave
de·prave   (dĭ-prāv')   
tr.v.   de·praved, de·prav·ing, de·praves
To debase, especially morally; corrupt. See Synonyms at corrupt.

[Middle English depraven, to corrupt, from Old French depraver, from Latin dēprāvāre : dē-, de- + prāvus, crooked.]
dep'ra·va'tion (děp'rə-vā'shən) n., de·prav'er n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Deprave

De*prave"\, n. t. [imp. & p. p. Depraved; p. pr. & vb. n. Depraving.] [L. depravare, depravatum; de- + pravus crooked, distorted, perverse, wicked.]

1. To speak ill of; to depreciate; to malign; to revile. [Obs.]

And thou knowest, conscience, I came not to chide Nor deprave thy person with a proud heart. --Piers Plowman.

2. To make bad or worse; to vitiate; to corrupt.

Whose pride depraves each other better part. --Spenser.

Syn: To corrupt; vitiate; contaminate; pollute.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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deprave 
1362, from O.Fr. depraver, from L. depravare "corrupt," from de- "completely" + pravus "crooked."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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