corrupt

[kuh-ruhpt] /kəˈrʌpt/
adjective
1.
guilty of dishonest practices, as bribery; lacking integrity; crooked:
a corrupt judge.
2.
debased in character; depraved; perverted; wicked; evil:
a corrupt society.
3.
made inferior by errors or alterations, as a text.
4.
infected; tainted.
5.
decayed; putrid.
verb (used with object)
6.
to destroy the integrity of; cause to be dishonest, disloyal, etc., especially by bribery.
7.
to lower morally; pervert:
to corrupt youth.
8.
to alter (a language, text, etc.) for the worse; debase.
9.
to mar; spoil.
10.
to infect; taint.
11.
to make putrid or putrescent.
12.
English Law. to subject (an attainted person) to corruption of blood.
verb (used without object)
13.
to become corrupt.
Origin
1250-1300; Middle English (< Anglo-French) < Latin corruptus broken in pieces, corrupted (past participle of corrumpere), equivalent to cor- cor- + rup- (variant stem of rumpere to break) + -tus past participle suffix
Related forms
corruptedly, adverb
corruptedness, noun
corrupter, corruptor, noun
corruptive, adjective
corruptively, adverb
corruptly, adverb
corruptness, noun
noncorrupt, adjective
noncorruptly, adverb
noncorruptness, noun
noncorrupter, noun
noncorruptive, adjective
overcorrupt, verb, adjective
overcorruptly, adverb
precorrupt, verb (used with object)
precorruptly, adverb
precorruptness, noun
precorruptive, adjective
uncorrupt, adjective
uncorruptly, adverb
uncorruptness, noun
uncorrupted, adjective
uncorruptedly, adverb
uncorruptedness, noun
uncorrupting, adjective
uncorruptive, adjective
Synonyms
1. false, untrustworthy. Corrupt, dishonest, venal apply to one, 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. 3, 4. contaminated. 4, 5. putrescent, rotten, spoiled. 6. demoralize, bribe. 7. debase, vitiate. 10. contaminate, pollute, spoil, defile. 11. putrefy.
Examples from the web for corrupt
  • The movies are seen as depicting a world that is inherently corrupt.
  • The timer is needed in case a packet becomes lost or corrupt.
  • Mad stan a terrorist who rebels against what he sees as a corrupt system.
  • However, he faces the obstacles of bureaucracy and corrupt officials.
  • Particularly, command economies have been notoriously corrupt.
British Dictionary definitions for corrupt

corrupt

/kəˈrʌpt/
adjective
1.
lacking in integrity; open to or involving bribery or other dishonest practices: a corrupt official, corrupt practices in an election
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
7.
to become or cause to become dishonest or disloyal
8.
to debase or become debased morally; deprave
9.
(transitive) to infect or contaminate; taint
10.
(transitive) to cause to become rotten
11.
(transitive) to alter (a text, manuscript, etc) from the original
12.
(transitive) (computing) to introduce errors into (data or a program)
Derived Forms
corrupter, corruptor, noun
corruptive, adjective
corruptively, adverb
corruptly, adverb
corruptness, noun
Word Origin
C14: from Latin corruptus spoiled, from corrumpere to ruin, literally: break to pieces, from rumpere to break
Word Origin and History for corrupt
adj.

mid-14c., from Old French corropt "unhealthy, corrupt; uncouth" (of language), and directly from Latin corruptus, past participle of corrumpere "to destroy; spoil," figuratively "corrupt, seduce, bribe," from com-, intensive prefix (see com-), + rup-, past participle stem of rumpere "to break" (see rupture (n.)). Related: Corruptly; corruptness.

v.

mid-14c., "contaminate, impair the purity of," from Latin corruptus, past participle of corrumpere (see corrupt (adj.)). Late 14c. as "pervert the meaning of," also "putrefy." Related: Corrupted; corrupting.