guilty of dishonest practices, as bribery; lacking integrity; crooked: a corrupt judge.
debased in character; depraved; perverted; wicked; evil: a corrupt society.
(of a text) made inferior by errors or alterations: Scholars compared the corrupt Alexandrian manuscript with a more reliable Greek translation.
infected; tainted.
decayed; putrid.
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)
to destroy the integrity of; cause to be dishonest, disloyal, etc., especially by bribery.
to lower morally; pervert: to corrupt youth.
to alter (a language, text, etc.) for the worse; debase.
to mar; spoil.
to infect; taint.
to make putrid or putrescent.
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.
English Law. (in historical use) to subject (an attainted person) to corruption of blood.
verb (used without object)
to become corrupt.
Origin of corrupt
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; see cor-
SYNONYMS FOR corrupt
1 false, untrustworthy.
3, 4 contaminated.
4, 5 putrescent, rotten, spoiled.
7 demoralize, bribe.
8 debase, vitiate.
11 contaminate, pollute, spoil, defile.
12 putrefy.
SEE SYNONYMS FOR corrupt ON THESAURUS.COM
synonym study for corrupt
1. 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.
cor·rup·tive·ly,adverbcor·rupt·ly,adverbcor·rupt·ness,nounnon·cor·rupt,adjectivenon·cor·rupt·ly,adverbnon·cor·rupt·ness,nounnon·cor·rupt·er,nounnon·cor·rup·tive,adjectiveo·ver·cor·rupt,verb,adjectiveo·ver·cor·rupt·ly,adverbpre·cor·rupt,verb (used with object)pre·cor·rupt·ly,adverbpre·cor·rupt·ness,nounpre·cor·rup·tive,adjectiveun·cor·rupt,adjectiveun·cor·rupt·ly,adverbun·cor·rupt·ness,nounun·cor·rupt·ed,adjectiveun·cor·rupt·ed·ly,adverbun·cor·rupt·ed·ness,nounun·cor·rupt·ing,adjectiveun·cor·rup·tive,adjective