1
as in decomposing
to go through decomposition
a dead mouse corrupting in the walls produced a terrible smell
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in degrading
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 bribing
to influence someone with a bribe
he bragged about having corrupted half of the officials on the city council
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Recent Examples of corrupting
In his Phaedrus, Plato attacked reading as corrupting true philosophical dialectic.
—
Big Think, 11 Mar. 2026
Richard Pazdur, a longtime cancer drug regulator, retired from the CDER director post in December due to concerns that political officials were corrupting the agency’s scientific process.
—Lizzy Lawrence, STAT, 6 Mar. 2026
In this way at least, the mayor follows in the path of Socrates by corrupting the young.
—Voice Of The People, New York Daily News, 18 Feb. 2026
But now, federal prosecutors say Hennen is the fixer behind the biggest point-shaving scandal in history, accused of bribing 39 college players, corrupting 17 programs and fixing — or trying fix — 29 games to enrich himself and other gamblers.
—Andy Sheehan, CBS News, 26 Jan. 2026
Blakeney then recruited other players on the team, corrupting the integrity of games, according to the indictment.
—Paulina Dedaj , Ryan Morik , Andrew Fone, FOXNews.com, 15 Jan. 2026
Political opponents appear as corrupting forces, stripped of individual texture.
—Philip Martin, Washington Post, 7 Jan. 2026
Achim Kempf, the Chair for Physics of Information and AI in the Department of Applied Mathematics, and Koji Yamaguchi, then a post-doctoral researcher at the University of Waterloo, co-discovered a method to copy quantum information without corrupting it.
—Ameya Paleja, Interesting Engineering, 7 Jan. 2026
And Maduro, both, Juan Orlando Hernandez, were accused of prolific drug trafficking, enriching themselves, corrupting their country, and allowing violence and danger to flourish.
—ABC News, 4 Jan. 2026
Big Think, 11 Mar. 2026
Richard Pazdur, a longtime cancer drug regulator, retired from the CDER director post in December due to concerns that political officials were corrupting the agency’s scientific process.
—Lizzy Lawrence, STAT, 6 Mar. 2026
In this way at least, the mayor follows in the path of Socrates by corrupting the young.
—Voice Of The People, New York Daily News, 18 Feb. 2026
But now, federal prosecutors say Hennen is the fixer behind the biggest point-shaving scandal in history, accused of bribing 39 college players, corrupting 17 programs and fixing — or trying fix — 29 games to enrich himself and other gamblers.
—Andy Sheehan, CBS News, 26 Jan. 2026
Blakeney then recruited other players on the team, corrupting the integrity of games, according to the indictment.
—Paulina Dedaj , Ryan Morik , Andrew Fone, FOXNews.com, 15 Jan. 2026
Political opponents appear as corrupting forces, stripped of individual texture.
—Philip Martin, Washington Post, 7 Jan. 2026
Achim Kempf, the Chair for Physics of Information and AI in the Department of Applied Mathematics, and Koji Yamaguchi, then a post-doctoral researcher at the University of Waterloo, co-discovered a method to copy quantum information without corrupting it.
—Ameya Paleja, Interesting Engineering, 7 Jan. 2026
And Maduro, both, Juan Orlando Hernandez, were accused of prolific drug trafficking, enriching themselves, corrupting their country, and allowing violence and danger to flourish.
—ABC News, 4 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for corrupting
Verb
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Inside the bag was a woman’s partially skeletonized decomposing torso, with the head, arms and legs missing.—
Rocco Parascandola,
New York Daily News,
11 Mar. 2026
-
Weed seeds land in decomposing mulch and find a foothold.—
Brandee Gruener,
Southern Living,
10 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Now both the stock and value of its human capital is degrading, and almost no one is doing anything to stop it.—
Allison Schrager,
Twin Cities,
8 Mar. 2026
-
These goals are not incompatible, of course, and all involve degrading Iran’s ability to project force beyond its borders.—
Marie-Rose Sheinerman,
The Atlantic,
6 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Two executives of a large utility, FirstEnergy, are now on trial for allegedly bribing Randazzo, who died by suicide after his own indictment.—
Chicago Tribune,
Chicago Tribune,
17 Mar. 2026
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Smartmatic's parent company was charged in a Florida federal court in October with conspiring to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act by bribing a Philippine government official to get business, and with conspiring to launder money.—
Aysha Bagchi,
USA Today,
10 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Watched behind his closed eyelids the eruption of strange visual forms, shapes of light blooming and disintegrating, blue green and yellow.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
9 Mar. 2026
-
Is there also a whiff of nostalgia in the slow movement, for a world disintegrating in brutality?—
Scott Cantrell,
Dallas Morning News,
6 Mar. 2026
Verb
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While fashion has a long history of subverting religious motifs, Spradlin said the colors reflect a shift to sincerity, adding that Gen Z and millennials are outpacing older cohorts in church attendance.—
Angela Velasquez,
Sourcing Journal,
12 Mar. 2026
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For his purposes of subverting elections, creating uncertainty may be nearly as effective as a real policy change.—
David A. Graham,
The Atlantic,
18 Feb. 2026
Verb
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The show is also virtually devoid of romantic escapades, a good thing since Dumas’ novel is filled with a lot of sentimental claptrap about fighting for defenseless women’s honor or seducing virtuous maidens or going to war due to the physical beauty of a monarch.—
Christopher Arnott,
Hartford Courant,
11 Mar. 2026
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Waugh walks around with a newfound swagger, playing hooky, drinking heavily, even seducing a woman at his local.—
Dan Piepenbring,
Harpers Magazine,
24 Feb. 2026
Verb
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That lurid fable was followed by 2023’s Pictures of Ghosts, an impressionistic documentary that told the parallel stories of Mendonça Filho’s life in movies and Recife’s decaying cinemas.—
Michael Snyder,
The Atlantic,
13 Mar. 2026
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The series doesn’t shyaway from the gory intricacies of death, including decaying cadavers and the detailed autopsies Kay performs.—
Aramide Tinubu,
Variety,
10 Mar. 2026
Verb
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If the goal instead is regime weakening—enfeebling the Islamic Republic so the Iranian public could overwhelm it—there are two ways forward.—
Dennis Ross,
The Atlantic,
13 Mar. 2026
-
Weak onshore flows will then return Saturday, which combined with a weakening high pressure system are expected to bring five to 10 degrees of cooling to the coasts and valleys but little change across interior sections, according to the weather service.—
Clara Harter,
Los Angeles Times,
12 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Corrupting.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/corrupting. Accessed 18 Mar. 2026.
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