Standard Lemma guide

corrupt

adj · verb · 17 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • /kəˈɹʌpt/
  • US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • rhymes with -ʌpt
  • CMU ARPABET: K ER0 AH1 P T Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

adj

Meaning 1

Willing to act dishonestly for personal gain; accepting bribes.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

adj

Meaning 2

In a depraved state; debased; perverted; morally degenerate; weak in morals.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Examples

  • The government here is corrupt, so we'll emigrate to escape them.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

adj

Meaning 3

Abounding in errors; not genuine or correct; in an invalid state.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Examples

  • The text of the manuscript is corrupt.
  • It turned out that the program was corrupt - that's why it wouldn't open.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

adj

Meaning 4

In a putrid state; spoiled; tainted; vitiated; unsound.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

5

verb

Meaning 5

To make corrupt; to change from good to bad; to draw away from the right path; to deprave; to pervert.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: transitive

Examples

  • Don't you dare corrupt my son with those disgusting pictures!

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: defile, lead astray, sully, warp, corrupt, desecrate, profanate, profane, profanize, pollute, tarnish, violate, adulterate, debauch, demoralize, detort, file, immoralize, pervert, preposterate, seduce, sophisticate, suborn, subvert, tamper, unmoralize, vitiate

Antonyms: none provided

6

verb

Meaning 6

To become putrid, tainted, or otherwise impure; to putrefy; to rot.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: archaic, intransitive

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: decay, decompose, fester

Antonyms: none provided

7

verb

Meaning 7

To introduce errors; to place into an invalid state.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: transitive

Examples

  • Unplugging a flash drive without dismounting it first can corrupt the data stored on the drive.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

8

verb

Meaning 8

To debase or make impure by alterations or additions; to falsify.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Examples

  • to corrupt language, or a holy text
  • to corrupt a book

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: adulter, bastardize, sophisticate, abase, adulterate, adulterize, alloy, balderdash, corrupt, dash, dilute, embase

Antonyms: none provided

9

verb

Meaning 9

To waste, spoil, or consume; to make worthless.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: mar, ruin, vitiate, ball up, blight, bumble, botch, bugger up, bungle, contaminate, corrupt, crab, deprave, disrupt, disturb, foil, fuck up, jack up, mess up, mishandle, mommick, pollute, put a crimp in, queer, screw up, soil, sour, spoil, stain, undo, upset, turn upside down, upset the applecart

Antonyms: none provided

10

adjective

Meaning 10

lacking in integrity

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • humanity they knew to be corrupt...from the day of Adam's creation
  • a corrupt and incompetent city government

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: incorrupt

11

adjective

Meaning 11

not straight; dishonest or immoral or evasive

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: crooked

Antonyms: none provided

12

adjective satellite

Meaning 12

touched by rot or decay

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • tainted bacon
  • `corrupt' is archaic

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: tainted

Antonyms: none provided

13

adjective satellite

Meaning 13

containing errors or alterations

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • a corrupt text
  • spoke a corrupted version of the language

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: corrupted

Antonyms: none provided

14

verb

Meaning 14

alter from the original

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: spoil

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: modify

Narrower terms: load, adulterate, stretch, dilute, debase

15

verb

Meaning 15

place under suspicion or cast doubt upon

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • sully someone's reputation

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: defile, sully, taint, cloud

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: mar, impair, spoil, deflower, vitiate

16

verb

Meaning 16

make illegal payments to in exchange for favors or influence

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • This judge can be bought

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: bribe, buy, grease one's palms

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: pay

Narrower terms: sop, buy off, pay off

17

verb

Meaning 17

corrupt morally or by intemperance or sensuality

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • debauch the young people with wine and women
  • Socrates was accused of corrupting young men
  • Do school counselors subvert young children?
  • corrupt the morals

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: pervert, subvert, demoralize, demoralise, debauch, debase, profane, vitiate, deprave, misdirect

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: change, alter, modify

Narrower terms: sensualize, sensualise, carnalize, carnalise, infect, lead off, lead astray, poison, bastardize, bastardise, suborn

History

Etymology

From Middle English corrupten, derived from Latin corruptus, past participle of corrumpō (“to destroy, ruin, injure, spoil, corrupt, bribe”), from com- (“together”) + rumpō (“to break in pieces”).

Across languages

Translations

119 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Arabic: مُرْتَشٍ (murtašin) — in a depraved state
  • Arabic: فَاسِد (fāsid) — in a depraved state
  • Belarusian: карумпава́ны (karumpavány) — in a depraved state
  • Belarusian: карумпі́раваны (karumpíravany) — in a depraved state
  • Belarusian: прада́жны (pradážny) — in a depraved state
  • Bulgarian: покваре́н (pokvarén) — in a depraved state
  • Bulgarian: корумпи́ран (korumpíran) — in a depraved state
  • Catalan: corrupte — in a depraved state
  • Czech: zkažený — in a depraved state
  • Czech: zkorumpovaný — in a depraved state
  • Danish: korrupt — in a depraved state
  • Dutch: corrupt — in a depraved state
  • Dutch: verdorven — in a depraved state
  • Finnish: turmeltunut — in a depraved state
  • Finnish: korruptoitunut — in a depraved state
  • French: corrompu — in a depraved state
  • French: dévoyé — in a depraved state
  • Galician: corrupto — in a depraved state
  • German: korrupt — in a depraved state
  • Greek: διεφθαρμένος (dieftharménos) — in a depraved state
  • Hebrew: מושחת (mushkhat) — in a depraved state
  • Hindi: बेईमान (beīmān) — in a depraved state
  • Hindi: भ्रष्ट (bhraṣṭ) — in a depraved state
  • Hungarian: korrupt — in a depraved state
  • Italian: corrotto — in a depraved state
  • Kazakh: азғын (azğyn) — in a depraved state
  • Kazakh: бұзылған (būzylğan) — in a depraved state
  • Khmer: ពុករលួយ (puk rɔluəy) — in a depraved state
  • Latin: corruptus — in a depraved state
  • Norwegian Bokmål: korrupt — in a depraved state
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: korrupt — in a depraved state
  • Polish: skorumpowany — in a depraved state
  • Portuguese: corrupto — in a depraved state
  • Romanian: corupt — in a depraved state
  • Russian: коррумпи́рованный (korrumpírovannyj) — in a depraved state
  • Russian: прода́жный (prodážnyj) — in a depraved state
  • Scottish Gaelic: olc — in a depraved state
  • Scottish Gaelic: meallta — in a depraved state
  • Scottish Gaelic: breun — in a depraved state
  • Spanish: corrupto — in a depraved state
  • Swedish: korrupt — in a depraved state
  • Tagalog: tiwali — in a depraved state
  • Tagalog: korap — in a depraved state
  • Tagalog: kurakot — in a depraved state
  • Turkish: yoz — in a depraved state
  • Turkish: yozlaşmış — in a depraved state
  • Turkish: bozulmuş — in a depraved state
  • Ottoman Turkish: صویسز (soysuz) — in a depraved state
  • Ukrainian: корумпо́ваний (korumpóvanyj) — in a depraved state
  • Ukrainian: прода́жний (prodážnyj) — in a depraved state
  • Vietnamese: tham nhũng — in a depraved state
  • Belarusian: сапсава́ны (sapsavány) — with lots of errors in it
  • Belarusian: сапсу́ты (sapsúty) — with lots of errors in it
  • Bulgarian: развале́н (razvalén) — with lots of errors in it
  • Catalan: corrupte — with lots of errors in it
  • Czech: porušený — with lots of errors in it
  • Finnish: korruptoitunut — with lots of errors in it
  • Hindi: अशुद्ध (aśuddh) — with lots of errors in it
  • Hindi: त्रुटिपूर्ण (truṭipūrṇ) — with lots of errors in it
  • Māori: hāmate — with lots of errors in it
  • Polish: zepsuty — with lots of errors in it
  • Russian: испо́рченный (ispórčennyj) — with lots of errors in it
  • Russian: повреждённый (povreždjónnyj) — with lots of errors in it
  • Spanish: corrupto — with lots of errors in it
  • Turkish: bozuk — with lots of errors in it
  • Turkish: bozulmuş — with lots of errors in it
  • Turkish: hatalı — with lots of errors in it
  • Ukrainian: зіпсо́ваний (zipsóvanyj) — with lots of errors in it
  • Arabic: أَفْسَدَ (ʔafsada) — to change from good to bad
  • Azerbaijani: pozmaq — to change from good to bad
  • Azerbaijani: korlamaq — to change from good to bad
  • Bulgarian: разва́лям (razváljam) — to change from good to bad
  • Bulgarian: развращавам (razvraštavam) — to change from good to bad
  • Catalan: corrompre — to change from good to bad
  • Czech: zkazit — to change from good to bad
  • Czech: narušit — to change from good to bad
  • Dutch: verderven — to change from good to bad
  • Dutch: verworden — to change from good to bad
  • Esperanto: korupti — to change from good to bad
  • Finnish: turmella — to change from good to bad
  • Finnish: korruptoida — to change from good to bad
  • French: corrompre — to change from good to bad
  • Galician: corromper — to change from good to bad
  • Galician: malvar — to change from good to bad
  • German: verderben — to change from good to bad
  • German: korrumpieren — to change from good to bad
  • Gothic: 𐍆𐍂𐌰𐍅𐌰𐍂𐌳𐌾𐌰𐌽 (frawardjan) — to change from good to bad
  • Gothic: 𐍂𐌹𐌿𐍂𐌾𐌰𐌽 (riurjan) — to change from good to bad
  • Greek: διαφθείρω (diaftheíro) — to change from good to bad
  • Ancient Greek: φθείρω (phtheírō) — to change from good to bad
  • Hebrew: השחית (hishkhít) — to change from good to bad
  • Hindi: भ्रंश (bhrañś) — to change from good to bad
  • Irish: truailligh — to change from good to bad
  • Irish: éilligh — to change from good to bad
  • Italian: corrompere — to change from good to bad
  • Japanese: 堕落させる (daraku saseru) — to change from good to bad
  • Khmer: ពុករលួយ (puk rɔluəy) — to change from good to bad
  • Latin: corrumpō — to change from good to bad
  • Latin: dēprāvō — to change from good to bad
  • Māori: whakatautauhea — to change from good to bad
  • Māori: whakatautauwhea — to change from good to bad
  • Māori: whakakonuka — to change from good to bad
  • Māori: kōrapurapu — to change from good to bad
  • Māori: hāmate — to change from good to bad
  • Occitan: corrompre — to change from good to bad
  • Portuguese: corromper — to change from good to bad
  • Romagnol: adulterêr — to change from good to bad
  • Romanian: corupe — to change from good to bad
  • Russian: разлагать (razlagatʹ) — to change from good to bad
  • Russian: развращать (razvraščatʹ) — to change from good to bad
  • Russian: портить (portitʹ) — to change from good to bad
  • Spanish: corromper — to change from good to bad
  • Spanish: corrumpir — to change from good to bad
  • Swedish: fördärva — to change from good to bad
  • Turkish: bozmak — to change from good to bad
  • Turkish: bozulmak — to change from good to bad
  • Turkish: yozlaşmak — to change from good to bad
  • Turkish: yozlaştırmak — to change from good to bad
  • Ottoman Turkish: بوزمق (bozmak) — to change from good to bad
Real reading context

corrupt in complete knowledge articles