pervert definition | Dictionary.com

per⋅vert

[v. per-vurt; n. pur-vert]

–verb (used with object)

1.	to affect with perversion.

2.	to lead astray morally.

3.	to turn away from the right course.

4.	to lead into mental error or false judgment.

5.	to turn to an improper use; misapply.

6.	to misconstrue or misinterpret, esp. deliberately; distort: to pervert someone's statement.

7.	to bring to a less excellent state; vitiate; debase.

8.	Pathology. to change to what is unnatural or abnormal.

9.	to convert or persuade to a religious belief regarded as false or wrong.

–noun

10.	a person who practices sexual perversion.

11.	Pathology. a person affected with perversion.

12.	a person who has been perverted, esp. to a religious belief regarded as erroneous.

Origin:
1300–50; (v.) ME perverten < L pervertere to overturn, subvert, equiv. to per- per- + vertere to turn; (n.) n. use of obs. pervert perverted

Related forms:

per⋅vert⋅er, noun

per⋅vert⋅i⋅ble, adjective

per⋅vert⋅i⋅bil⋅i⋅ty, noun

per⋅vert⋅i⋅bly, adverb

Synonyms:
2. seduce, corrupt, demoralize. 3. divert. 4. mislead, misguide. 7. pollute, defile; impair, degrade.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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per·vert (pər-vûrt')

tr.v. per·vert·ed, per·vert·ing, per·verts

To cause to turn away from what is right, proper, or good; corrupt.
To bring to a bad or worse condition; debase.
To put to a wrong or improper use; misuse. See Synonyms at corrupt.
To interpret incorrectly; misconstrue or distort: an analysis that perverts the meaning of the poem.

n. (pûr'vûrt')
One who practices sexual perversion.

[Middle English perverten, from Old French pervertir, from Latin pervertere : per-, per- + vertere, to turn; see wer-² in Indo-European roots.]
per·vert'er n., per·vert'i·ble adj.

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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Pervert

Per*vert"\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Perverted; p. pr. & vb. n. Perverting.] [F. pervertir, L. pervertere, perversum; per + vertere to turn. See Per-, and Verse.]

1. To turnanother way; to divert. [Obs.]

Let's follow him, and pervert the present wrath. --Shak.

2. To turn from truth, rectitude, or propriety; to divert from a right use, end, or way; to lead astray; to corrupt; also, to misapply; to misinterpret designedly; as, to pervert one's words. --Dryden.

He, in the serpent, had perverted Eve. --Milton.

Pervert

Per*vert"\, v. i. To become perverted; to take the wrong course. [R.] --Testament of Love.

Pervert

Per"vert\, n. One who has been perverted; one who has turned to error, especially in religion; -- opposed to convert. See the Synonym of Convert.

That notorious pervert, Henry of Navarre. --Thackeray.

Language Translation for : pervert

Spanish: distorsionar, tergiversar,

German: verdrehen,

Japanese: ゆがめる

More Translations »

pervert (v.)

c.1300 (trans.), "to turn someone aside from a right religious belief to a false or erroneous one," from O.Fr. pervertir, from L. pervertere "corrupt, turn the wrong way, turn about," from per- "away" + vertere "to turn" (see versus). The noun is 1661, from the verb. Replaced native froward, which embodies the same image. The noun is attested from 1661, "one who has forsaken a doctrine or system regarded as true, apostate;" psychological sense of "one who has a perversion of the sexual instinct" is attested from 1897 (Havelock Ellis), originally esp. of homosexuals. Perv, short for sexual pervert (n.), is first recorded 1944.

Main Entry: ¹per·vert
Pronunciation: p&r-'v&rt
Function: transitive verb
: to cause to engage in perversion or to become perverted

Main Entry: ²per·vert
Pronunciation: 'p&r-"v&rt
Function: noun
: one that has been perverted; specifically : onegiven to some form of sexual perversion

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