as in degraded
having or showing lowered moral character or standards
corrupt businessmen who are out to fleece the public corrupt business practices that should be investigated
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in to rot
to go through decomposition
a dead mouse corrupting in the walls produced a terrible smell
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to degrade
to lower in character, dignity, or quality
some observers believe that grossly violent movies corrupt the people who watch them as well as the people who make them
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in to bribe
to influence someone with a bribe
he bragged about having corrupted half of the officials on the city council
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of corrupt
Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 22 July 2025
Set in 1987 Oakland, Freaky Tales is a multi-track mixtape of colorful characters – an NBA star, a corrupt cop, a female rap duo, teen punks, neo-Nazis, and a debt collector – on a collision course in a fever dream of showdowns and battles.
—Matt Grobar, Deadline, 22 July 2025
Andrea Long Chu, Vulture, 16 June 2025
One of the most common mistakes travelers make is plugging phones into an unprotected USB charging port at the airport, which hackers can corrupt with malware.
—Evie Carrick, Travel + Leisure, 9 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for corrupt
Adjective
The first season’s framing of the police as some of the dumbest and most corrupt people alive could be good fodder for Salazar, who might make a go for sheriff given how Callie’s husband bungled the Pastor Pete case.
—Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 22 July 2025
Set in 1987 Oakland, Freaky Tales is a multi-track mixtape of colorful characters – an NBA star, a corrupt cop, a female rap duo, teen punks, neo-Nazis, and a debt collector – on a collision course in a fever dream of showdowns and battles.
—Matt Grobar, Deadline, 22 July 2025
Verb
Her new novel, Spent, tells the story of one Alison Bechdel, a tetchy lesbian cartoonist running a pygmy-goat sanctuary in Vermont who is trying to write a memoir about the corrupting influence of money.
—Andrea Long Chu, Vulture, 16 June 2025
One of the most common mistakes travelers make is plugging phones into an unprotected USB charging port at the airport, which hackers can corrupt with malware.
—Evie Carrick, Travel + Leisure, 9 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for corrupt
Recent Examples of Synonyms for corrupt
Adjective
-
On top of software setbacks, the OP said the vehicle's battery had to be replaced, but with a degraded unit that reduced range by 30 miles overnight.—
Thomas Westerholm,
MSNBC Newsweek,
21 July 2025
-
In the kitchen, opt for glass and stainless-steel containers, and throw away degraded plastic tools.—
Annie Lowrey,
The Atlantic,
7 July 2025
Verb
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This rotting food would inevitably emit a stench so overpowering that early European explorers, fur trappers, and missionaries were sickened by it.—
ArsTechnica,
ArsTechnica,
28 July 2025
-
In a 1965 article from the Marion Leader-Tribune, Hoosier farmers statewide reported that roughly a fourth of their tomato crop had rotted due to unfavorable weather and a failure to attract enough workers.—
Bradley Hohulin,
IndyStar,
26 July 2025
Verb
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Poor sizing can result in uneven temperatures, higher utility bills, potentially shorter equipment lifespan, and degraded indoor air quality.—
Brynn Cooksey,
Forbes.com,
30 July 2025
-
In April, Hamdan Ballal, another of the film’s co-directors, was beaten and degraded by Israeli settlers, then blindfolded and detained at an army base, only weeks after winning an Oscar.—
Emily Zemler,
Rolling Stone,
29 July 2025
Verb
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On the other hand, Piña was charged with two counts of wire fraud, two counts of money laundering, one count of conspiracy and one count of bribing a public official.—
Joseph Wilkinson,
New York Daily News,
10 July 2025
-
In earlier testimony, a Los Angeles hotel employee said Combs bribed him for a video, published by CNN last year, that depicts Combs attacking Ventura in the hotel’s hallway.—
Conor Murray,
Forbes.com,
25 June 2025
Adjective
-
Not every mosquito carries West Nile virus, and not everyone who contracts the virus will get sick.—
Madeline Heim,
jsonline.com,
28 July 2025
-
Cena took the opportunity to chug water to avoid getting sick.—
Dessi Gomez,
Deadline,
26 July 2025
Verb
-
However, when viruses were exposed to sunlight, many of them did not survive as long, decaying in under 24 hours.—
Jack Knudson,
Discover Magazine,
13 Mar. 2025
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The result was not only environmental catastrophe but license for unchecked consumption of cheap plastic goods that can take a few minutes to use but hundreds of years to decay.—
Scott W. Stern,
The Atlantic,
10 Mar. 2025
Verb
-
Alex managed to bypass Charlie’s detection by training herself to swallow all her natural impulses when lying, subverting the template of the show and what fans have come to expect.—
Matt Minton,
Variety,
10 July 2025
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On the flip side, some influencers have posted images of them wearing Skims' retro girdle as a sole outfit, subverting the 1950s connotation of undergarments as visible only to one's husband, said Einav Rabinovitch-Fox, professor of gender at Case Western Reserve University.—
Nicole Fallert,
USA Today,
10 July 2025
Adjective
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There are all sorts of bad husbands in The Hunting Wives: Jed (Dermot Mulroney) is a horny oil tycoon with his eyes set on the governor’s mansion, Clint (Jason Davis) is a snobby reverend, and Jonny (Branton Box) is a crooked sheriff.—
Fran Hoepfner,
Vulture,
1 Aug. 2025
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The black hole and its crooked jet are found in a blazar known as OJ 287, located about four billion light-years away.—
Keith Cooper,
Space.com,
1 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Corrupt.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/corrupt. Accessed 5 Aug. 2025.
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