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Definition of perverse - 4 dictionary results

per⋅verse

  [per-vurs]
Use perverse in a Sentence
–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.
Origin:
1325–75; ME < L perversus facing the wrong way, askew, orig. ptp. of pervertere. See pervert

Related forms:
per⋅verse⋅ly, adverb
per⋅verse⋅ness, noun

Synonyms:
1. contumacious, disobedient. 4. stubborn, headstrong. See willful. 5. evil, bad, sinful.

Antonyms:
1. agreeable. 4. tractable.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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per·verse   (pər-vûrs', pûr'vûrs')   
adj.  

  1. Directed away from what is right or good; perverted.

  2. Obstinately persisting in an error or fault; wrongly self-willed or stubborn.

    1. Marked by a disposition to oppose and contradict.

    2. Arising from such a disposition.

  4. Cranky; peevish.


[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.
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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Word Origin & History

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
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: per·verse
Pronunciation: p&r-'v&rs
Function: adjective
: being, relating to, or characterized by perversion <perversesexual behavior>
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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