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View synonyms for corruption

corruption

[ kuh-ruhp-shuhn ]

noun

  1. the act of corrupting or state of being corrupt.

    Antonyms: purity

  2. moral perversion; depravity.

    Synonyms: immorality, dissolution

    Antonyms: purity

  3. perversion of integrity.

    Antonyms: honesty, purity

  4. corrupt or dishonest proceedings.

    Antonyms: honesty

  5. debasement or alteration, as of language or a text.
  6. a debased form of a word.
  7. putrefactive decay; rottenness.

    Synonyms: putrescence, contamination, pollution, foulness, putrefaction, rot

  8. any corrupting influence or agency.
  9. Computers. the state of being compromised by errors in computer code or stored data, or an action that causes such errors:

    The system crash was the result of previously undetected data corruption.



corruption

/ kəˈrʌpʃən /

noun

  1. the act of corrupting or state of being corrupt
  2. moral perversion; depravity
  3. dishonesty, esp bribery
  4. putrefaction or decay
  5. alteration, as of a manuscript
  6. an altered form of a word
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012


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Derived Forms

  • corˈruptionist, noun
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Other Words From

  • anti·cor·ruption noun adjective
  • over·cor·ruption noun
  • precor·ruption noun
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Word History and Origins

Origin of corruption1

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English cor(r)upcio(u)n, from Middle French, from Latin corruptiōn-, stem of corruptiō; corrupt, -ion
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Example Sentences

Except, well, those countries are not safe — corruption, crime, violence, and lack of economic opportunity have driven hundreds of thousands to flee the countries in recent years.

From Vox

When we asked Brian Kolfage last month to explain how his group We Build the Wall had spent the $25 million it had raised, plus address concerns of corruption when the private sector takes over the building of border walls, he scoffed.

That, again, is Jason Robins from DraftKings, talking about corruption in sports.

The soldiers arrested the president following months of mass protests against corruption and escalating insecurity in Mali, where Islamic militants have been active since 2012.

From Quartz

They assess the specific agency’s track record on corruption, safety, finance, and abuse—as well as factoring in how much it needs the tool.

She is the author of Dirty Entanglements: Corruption, Crime and Terrorism (Cambridge University Press).

Islamic State brought “peace, autonomy, zero corruption, low crime-rate,” he Tweeted last month.

The stench of corruption is settling over world soccer like a poisonous fog, and players are paying the price.

Both Rezko and Blagojevich have since been convicted on unrelated federal corruption charges.

The ruling also cleared Mubarak along with his sons, Alaa and Gamal, of corruption charges relating to the sale of gas to Israel.

The mangled bodies were hurried to the catacombs, and thrown into an indiscriminate heap of corruption.

One of them was the late Secretary of the Treasury, Guy, who had been turned out of his place for corruption.

In Castile was ostentatiously displayed and lavishly spent great fortunes made in remote provinces by oppression and corruption.

Its origin is involved in obscurity: but may it not be a corruption of the Latin ambages, or the singular ablative ambage?

Amid the disintegration of society it was the sole conservative element—the salt which preserved it from corruption.

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More About Corruption

What does corruption mean?

Corruption most commonly refers to a state in which members of organizations or institutions are engaging in illegal or otherwise dishonest practices to benefit themselves.

The term is most often used in the context of such rulebreaking by people who are powerful or who are responsible for the well-being of others, such as politicians, government officials, and police officers.

Corruption is a noun form of corrupt, which can be an adjective used to describe people who act in this way (or their actions), or a verb meaning to destroy the integrity of someone or something or cause someone to be dishonest.

More generally, corruption can refer to the act or process of someone or something becoming corrupt, depraved, or debased.

More specifically, corruption can refer to the alteration of a word or text in a way that deviates from its original or intended form.

Example: The investigation revealed a long history of corruption within the agency that extends to its highest ranks. 

Where does corruption come from?

The first records of the word corruption come from the 1300s. It ultimately derives from the Latin verb corrumpere, meaning “to ruin” (or literally “to break to pieces”), from the verb rumpere, “to break.”

Corruption happens when the people who are supposed to be upholding the rules break the rules to benefit themselves—typically to get richer or more powerful. The word is most commonly used to describe shady dealings by officials in the government or other organizations (as opposed to ordinary citizens). Perhaps the most common and well-known example of corruption is bribery, and in fact corruption can be used as a synonym of bribery.

When people refer to the corruption of a person, it usually involves a debasing of their values or morality (at least in the judgment of the person using the word). In the context of language and words, corruption happens all the time as words evolve and get introduced into other languages. This sense of the word is less negative than others. In the context of software, data corruption and file corruption happen due to various errors that result in files being lost or unable to be opened.

Did you know ... ?

What are some other forms related to corruption?

  • anticorruption (noun, adjective)
  • overcorruption (noun)
  • precorruption (noun)
  • corrupt (adjective, verb)

What are some synonyms for corruption?

What are some words that share a root or word element with corruption

What are some words that often get used in discussing corruption?

How is corruption used in real life?

Corruption is most commonly used in the context of institutional corruption, especially in government and politics.

 

 

Try using corruption!

Is corruption used correctly in the following sentence?

The corruption of your values has led you to make many bad decisions.

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