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
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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
Martha McHardy, Newsweek, 12 Feb. 2025
Those counterintelligence debacles shake public confidence and bolster Trump’s critique that the intelligence agencies are dysfunctional and even corrupt.
—Shane Harris, The Atlantic, 12 Feb. 2025
Steven Levitsky, Foreign Affairs, 11 Feb. 2025
Putin believes in authoritarianism, in a strong Russian state, in the rehabilitation of the country’s Soviet past, and in a Russian civilization that is superior to a West corrupted by secularism and individualism.
—Rich Lowry, Twin Cities, 7 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for corrupt
Adjective
Musk previously suggested Power was corrupt, claims that were quickly debunked.
—Martha McHardy, Newsweek, 12 Feb. 2025
Those counterintelligence debacles shake public confidence and bolster Trump’s critique that the intelligence agencies are dysfunctional and even corrupt.
—Shane Harris, The Atlantic, 12 Feb. 2025
Verb
Moreover, much of the Republican Party now embraces the idea that America’s institutions—from the federal bureaucracy and public schools to the media and private universities—have been corrupted by left-wing ideologies.
—Steven Levitsky, Foreign Affairs, 11 Feb. 2025
Putin believes in authoritarianism, in a strong Russian state, in the rehabilitation of the country’s Soviet past, and in a Russian civilization that is superior to a West corrupted by secularism and individualism.
—Rich Lowry, Twin Cities, 7 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for corrupt
Recent Examples of Synonyms for corrupt
Adjective
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Tragically, the Chesapeake remains significantly degraded and its overall water quality has improved only marginally after 41 years.—
Gerald Winegrad,
Baltimore Sun,
10 Feb. 2025
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Against the backdrop of a degraded web, the improbable success of a volunteer-run website attempting to gather all the world’s knowledge is something to celebrate, not destroy.—
Lila Shroff,
The Atlantic,
5 Feb. 2025
Verb
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Do not paint the wound with a pruning sealant; that can trap moisture in the wound and lead to rot.—
Beth Botts,
Chicago Tribune,
22 Feb. 2025
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Damaged sections can lead to rot and loss of the cuttings.—
Derek Carwood,
Better Homes & Gardens,
18 Feb. 2025
Verb
-
The conspiratorial right aims to degrade the state’s ability to collect taxes, conduct diplomacy, prosecute violations of civil rights, and otherwise carry out its duties.—
Foreign Affairs,
Foreign Affairs,
25 Feb. 2025
-
In sum, proper use of AI should be encouraged, as opposed to this case where the D grade appeared to degrade its use.—
Tom Rogers,
Newsweek,
20 Feb. 2025
Verb
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Four years later, federal prosecutors in New York charged the company with bribing Chinese officials.—
Andrea Chang,
Los Angeles Times,
20 Feb. 2025
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And to add insult to injury, while cutting off food aid to millions of starving Africans, Trump has suspended enforcement of the rules against Americans bribing foreign officials.—
Dan Perry,
Newsweek,
19 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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Gazans cheer, blast music as Hamas conducts sick parade of hostages Hamas paraded Israeli hostages Eliya Cohen, Omer Shem Tov and Omer Wenkert in front of a cheering crowd Saturday, before releasing them after more than 500 days in captivity.—
Landon Mion,
Fox News,
22 Feb. 2025
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One family has a sick child who could be heard crying in the background during a call between Herischi and Panamanian officials.—
Yong Xiong, Michael Rios, CNN and Ivonne Valdés,
CNN,
22 Feb. 2025
Verb
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What doesn’t decay this winter can be mulched up next spring.—
Jeff Lowenfels,
Anchorage Daily News,
22 Sep. 2022
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In particular, many theorists have wondered how the great complexity of life can be reconciled with the laws of thermodynamics that suggest that all systems must inevitably decay to a state of greatest disorder.—
The Physics arXiv Blog,
Discover Magazine,
29 Apr. 2022
Verb
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This time around, the writers subvert the whole concept of having an In Memorian section at all.—
Joe Berkowitz,
Vulture,
17 Feb. 2025
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Romance writers are excellent at combining tropes, of subverting the traditional view of a trope, and applying tropes to an infinite number of new settings, characters, and conflicts.—
Denise Williams,
People.com,
15 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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As a side sleeper who constantly wakes up with a crooked neck and often back pain, this was a huge plus.—
Nashia Baker,
Architectural Digest,
27 Feb. 2025
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In short, repealing the FCPA will be a boon to crooked foreign corporations and will create an uneven playing field—in their favor.—
Matt Robison,
Newsweek,
24 Feb. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Corrupt.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/corrupt. Accessed 3 Mar. 2025.
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