corruption

noun

Unethical administrative or executive practices (in government or business), including bribery (offering or receiving bribes), conflicts of interest, nepotism, embezzlement, and so on.

The act of corrupting or of impairing integrity, virtue, or moral principle; the state of being corrupted or debased; loss of purity or integrity.

The act of corrupting or making putrid, or state of being corrupt or putrid; decomposition or disorganization, in the process of putrefaction; putrefaction; deterioration.

The act of changing, or of being changed, for the worse; departure from what is pure, simple, or correct.

Something originally good or pure that has turned evil or impure; a perversion.

(computing) The destruction of data by manipulation of parts of it, either by deliberate or accidental human action or by imperfections in storage or transmission media.

The decomposition of biological matter.

The product of corruption; putrid matter.

(metalanguage) A nonstandard form of a word, expression, or text, especially when resulting from misunderstanding, transcription error, or mishearing. (See a usage note about this sense.)

Roots

rumporupt- · Latin · break

Synonyms for corruption

corruptnessn depravityn rottennessn degeneracyn briberyn subversionn subornationn criminalityn dishonestyn vitiationn turpituden decadencyn

Synonyms & related words for corruption

Find synonyms, related words, and the definition of corruption — including corruptness, depravity, rottenness, degeneracy, bribery, subversion. Dendril is a free visual thesaurus that shows them on an interactive map where stronger matches sit closer to the center — no signup, no ads.

Words related to corruption

Explore words related to corruption — words associated with it, words that go with it, and its nearest matches in meaning. Related words include putrescence, putridness, jobbery, corrupt, putrefaction, venality, incorruption, corruptibility. Click any word to make it the center of the map and keep exploring the web of connections.

Synonyms for corruption

Common synonyms for corruption include corruptness, depravity, rottenness, degeneracy, bribery, subversion, subornation, criminality — words that share a close meaning. Hover or tap any word on the map for its definition and part of speech.

Where does corruption come from?

The word corruption breaks down into one root of Latin origin: the root rupt-, from Latin rumpo (“break”). Explore each root to see other English words built from the same source.