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View synonyms for corrupt

corrupt

[ kuh-ruhpt ]

adjective

  1. guilty of dishonest practices, as bribery; lacking integrity; crooked:

    a corrupt judge.

    Synonyms: trustworthy, false

  2. debased in character; depraved; perverted; wicked; evil:

    a corrupt society.

  3. (of a text) made inferior by errors or alterations:

    Scholars compared the corrupt Alexandrian manuscript with a more reliable Greek translation.

  4. infected; tainted.
  5. Archaic. decayed; putrid.

    Synonyms: spoiled, decomposed, rotten, putrescent

  6. Computers. relating to or designating computer code or stored data that contains errors:

    If the corrupt file won’t open, restore a previous save.



verb (used with object)

  1. to destroy the integrity of; cause to be dishonest, disloyal, etc., especially by bribery.

    Synonyms: demoralize, suborn, buy, bribe

  2. to lower morally; pervert:

    to corrupt youth.

    Synonyms: vitiate, debase

  3. to alter (a language, text, etc.) for the worse; debase.
  4. to mar; spoil.
  5. to infect; taint.

    Synonyms: defile, pollute, contaminate

  6. Archaic. to make putrid or putrescent.

    Synonyms: putrefy

  7. Computers. to introduce errors in (computer code or stored data) when saving, transmitting, or retrieving it:

    I downloaded some free modifications that corrupted the core program, so I can’t open it until I uninstall and reinstall the original version.

  8. English Law. (in historical use) to subject (an attainted person) to corruption of blood.

verb (used without object)

  1. to become corrupt.

corrupt

/ kəˈrʌpt /

adjective

  1. lacking in integrity; open to or involving bribery or other dishonest practices

    corrupt practices in an election

    a corrupt official

  2. morally depraved
  3. putrid or rotten
  4. contaminated; unclean
  5. (of a text or manuscript) made meaningless or different in meaning from the original by scribal errors or alterations
  6. (of computer programs or data) containing errors


verb

  1. to become or cause to become dishonest or disloyal
  2. to debase or become debased morally; deprave
  3. tr to infect or contaminate; taint
  4. tr to cause to become rotten
  5. tr to alter (a text, manuscript, etc) from the original
  6. tr computing to introduce errors into (data or a program)

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Derived Forms

  • corˈruptness, noun
  • corˈruptly, adverb
  • corˈruptive, adjective
  • corˈruptively, adverb
  • corˈrupter, noun

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Other Words From

  • cor·rupted·ly adverb
  • cor·rupted·ness noun
  • cor·rupter cor·ruptor noun
  • cor·ruptive adjective
  • cor·ruptive·ly adverb
  • cor·ruptly adverb
  • cor·ruptness noun
  • noncor·rupt adjective
  • noncor·ruptly adverb
  • noncor·ruptness noun
  • noncor·rupter noun
  • noncor·ruptive adjective
  • over·cor·rupt verb adjective
  • over·cor·ruptly adverb
  • precor·rupt verb (used with object)
  • precor·ruptly adverb
  • precor·ruptness noun
  • precor·ruptive adjective
  • uncor·rupt adjective
  • uncor·ruptly adverb
  • uncor·ruptness noun
  • uncor·rupted adjective
  • uncor·rupted·ly adverb
  • uncor·rupted·ness noun
  • uncor·rupting adjective
  • uncor·ruptive adjective

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Word History and Origins

Origin of corrupt1

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English verb from Latin corruptus “rotten, decayed, corrupted” (past participle of corrumpere ), equivalent to cor- intensive prefix + rup- (variant stem of rumpere “to break”) + -tus past participle suffix; cor-

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Word History and Origins

Origin of corrupt1

C14: from Latin corruptus spoiled, from corrumpere to ruin, literally: break to pieces, from rumpere to break

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Synonym Study

Corrupt, dishonest, venal apply to a person, especially in public office, who acts on mercenary motives, without regard to honor, right, or justice. A corrupt politician is one originally honest who has succumbed to temptation and begun questionable practices. A dishonest politician is one lacking native integrity. A venal politician is one so totally debased as to sell patronage.

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Example Sentences

These young adults have voluntarily checked out of a political system they consider corrupt and dysfunctional.

Cuba, already corrupt, will have to avoid becoming even more so when American investment pours in.

So, is Rampal really that different from a corrupt, charismatic megachurch leader felled by scandal?

That suggestion turns absurd when you consider the long list of corrupt Democrat politicians Lynch has sent to prison.

This corrupt bargain results in a decade-long stasis, with far-reaching implications.

He will tell you that evil communications corrupt good manners, and pitch defiles.

It is tolerably certain that this is a corrupt form of the passage, and only makes the matter darker.

The administration had been too corrupt, the exactions too heavy to be longer borne, when reform appeared to be within reach.

Their speech is a dialect called Chabucano—a mixture of very corrupt Spanish and native tongues.

And the degraded society, like the robe which once covered the living body, but is afterwards cast off, is faded and corrupt.

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