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)

Derived Forms

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

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

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-

Word History and Origins

Origin of corrupt¹

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

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.

Example Sentences

“On one hand you have a prison service that’s meant to be rule-abiding and strict and uphold British values, and in reality you have corrupt officers.”

From BBC

“Prisons are complex places and there can be no place or excuse for corrupt staff,” he says.

From BBC

It also is designed to prevent corrupt or unqualified nominees in administrations.

From BBC

It is a shocking choice, surely by design, that reflects an obvious desire to corrupt the agency from the top down.

From Slate

Last year, after he was indicted by the Biden administration’s special prosecutor, Trump said he would “appoint a real special prosecutor to go after the most corrupt president” in American history: “Joe Biden and the entire Biden crime family.”

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• bribe
• contaminate
• debase
• degrade
• demean
• demoralize
• harm
• impair
• misuse
• ruin
• subvert
• taint
• undermine
• violate
• warp