corruption — English Dictionary

corruption
Pronunciations (2)
  • /kəˈɹʌpʃən/
  • kəˈɹʌpʃən

Noun

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

    Usage
    • Countable
    • Uncountable
    Examples

    It was necessary, by exposing the gross corruptions of monasteries, […] to exite popular indignation against them.

    They abstained from some of the worst methods of corruption usual to their party in its earlier days.

    More examples (2)

    But electric vehicles and the batteries that made them run became ensnared in corporate scandals, fraud, and monopolistic corruption that shook the confidence of the nation and inspired automotive upstarts.

    WikiLeaks did not cause these uprisings but it certainly informed them. The dispatches revealed details of corruption and kleptocracy that many Tunisians suspected, but could not prove, and would cite as they took to the streets.

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

    Usage
    • Countable
    • Uncountable
    Examples

    The inducing and accelerating of putrefaction is a subject of very universal inquiry; for corruption is a reciprocal to generation.

  3. The product of corruption; putrid matter.

    Usage
    • Countable
    • Uncountable
    Examples
    More examples (1)

    Think of wandering amid sepulchral ruins, of stumbling over the bones of the dead, of encountering what I cannot describe,—the horror of being among those who are neither the living or the dead;—those dark and shadowless things that sport themselves with the reliques of the dead, and feast and love amid corruption,—ghastly, mocking, and terrific.

  4. The decomposition of biological matter.

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

    Usage
    • Countable
    • Uncountable
    Synonyms
  6. 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.

    Usage
    • Countable
    • Uncountable
    Examples
    More examples (1)

    The idea of having a time lag is to allow for situations when a corruption of some type affects the source server. If a corruption occurs, you do not want it to replicate to the copy of the database, so the time lag gives administrators the opportunity to recognize that a problem exists and then to have the ability to switch from the database copy if the corruption is so bad that it renders the original database unusable.

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

    Usage
    • Countable
    • Uncountable
    Examples

    a corruption of style

    corruption of innocence

  8. 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.)

    Usage
    • Countable
    • Uncountable
    Examples
    More examples (1)

    The affix ty, like té, Fr., ta, It., dad, Sp., is a corruption of the Latin affix tas, tat, and Greek tes; as bounty, bonté, Fr., bonta, It., bondad, Sp., bonitas from bonus, good; vanity, vanité, Fr., vanita, It., vanidad, Sp, vanitas from vanus, vain.

    The estate is called Carfax, no doubt a corruption of the old Quatre Face, as the house is four-sided, agreeing with the cardinal points of the compass.

    More examples (1)

    Even though the longer ending of Mark is itself secondary, its wording was no more immune to corruption than any other portion of the New Testament text (as scribes would normally not know they were corrupting a corruption).

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

    Usage
    • Countable
    • Uncountable
    Examples
    More examples (2)

    God creates and produces them, but it is according to the Laws of this Species of Beings who were made to propagate one another, so that in this Production earthly Parents are the Instruments. And how far they may be the Instruments in conveying a Corruption or Pravity, is what we cannot distinctly explain; but to make this alone a Rason for denying it, would argue great Rashness and want of Reflection.

    Far be it from me, however, to attribute the success to my exertions: I know very well that the whole success depends on the corruption and weakness of that system which I attack; for all that is requisite in this siege, is to tell the truth: let the truth be told, without concealment, and without fear of giving offence, and against such warfare the Church of England has no sort of chance: her corruptions and her abuses are so monstrous, that they need be only shewn to he hated; the only difficulty is to find persons who have the courage to withdraw the veil from the abominations that stand in the holy place.

    They admitted that there were corruptions in the Church of Scotland, but denied that these corruptions were such as to render a separation from her necessary.

    More examples (2)

    Let not lazy Christians ever think they shall be more than conquerors, while they use only drowsy and yawning desires, and wish that such a lust were weakened, that such a corruption were mortified and subdued, but never rouse up their graces against them.

    We believe a corruption has started, we have feared this day for many years; ever since we got reports that a dark cult containing a small amount of members had been praying to the underworld god Volkin, and that they were never caught.

Noun

  1. lack of integrity or honesty (especially susceptibility to bribery); use of a position of trust for dishonest gain

    Synonyms
    Broader terms
  2. in a state of progressive putrefaction

    Broader terms
  3. decay of matter (as by rot or oxidation)

    Broader terms
  4. moral perversion; impairment of virtue and moral principles

    Broader terms
    Examples

    the luxury and corruption among the upper classes

    moral degeneracy followed intellectual degeneration

    More examples (2)

    its brothels, its opium parlors, its depravity

    Rome had fallen into moral putrefaction

  5. destroying someone's (or some group's) honesty or loyalty; undermining moral integrity

    Synonyms
    Examples

    corruption of a minor

    the big city's subversion of rural innocence

  6. inducement (as of a public official) by improper means (as bribery) to violate duty (as by committing a felony)

    Broader terms
    Examples

    he was held on charges of corruption and racketeering

Word forms
corruptions

Code Formatters

Format and beautify Java, Python, JavaScript, JSON, HTML and more; adjust indentation, spacing and line breaks.

More tools

Audio Editing & Effects

Trim, join or split recordings, remove silence or noise, and adjust volume, speed, pitch or channels.

More tools

Spreadsheet Tools

Open and edit CSV or Excel sheets, format tabular text, and convert CSV to Excel or SQL.

More tools

Markdown Tools

Write and preview Markdown, render Mermaid diagrams, and convert Markdown, HTML and tables between formats.

More tools

Text Tools

Compare passages, count words and keywords, sort or replace lines, and view DOCX text.

More tools

Dictionaries

Look up Chinese meanings, synonyms and antonyms, or find IPA pronunciations in multiple languages.

Audio Conversion & Playback

Convert between MP3, WAV, FLAC and more, play audio or raw PCM, and inspect or edit audio metadata.

JSON & Data Tools

Inspect, compare and validate JSON; test JSONPath expressions, or convert data to CSV, YAML and XML.

More tools

Speech Tools

Transcribe audio to text, generate speech from text, or record your voice in the browser.

Video Tools

Convert and compress video, trim or join clips, resize frames, and extract audio.

More tools

Video Playback & Recording

Play local or streaming video, record your screen or camera, and use your camera as an online mirror.

PDF Tools

Compress or merge PDFs, split and rearrange pages, convert pages to images, and view or compare documents.

More tools

Image Tools

Convert image formats, resize or crop photos, compress files, compare pictures, and extract text with OCR.

More tools

Image Creation

Capture and beautify screenshots, turn text into images or GIFs, draw on a whiteboard, and create word clouds or favicons.

More tools

Subtitle Tools

Edit SRT or VTT captions with a video preview, shift timing, convert formats, and manage subtitle tracks.

More tools

Archive Tools

Open ZIP, 7Z, RAR or TAR files, extract selected contents, and create new archives with optional ZIP/7Z passwords.

Encoders | Decoders

Encode and decode Base64 or Base32, escape URLs, HTML and Unicode text, and inspect JWT contents.

More tools

Number Tools

Convert number bases and values between binary, decimal and hex; turn numbers into words or text into binary.

Calculators

Work out percentages and fractions, summarize statistics, and calculate grades, discounts or aspect ratios.

More tools

Time Tools

Show an online clock, run a countdown or stopwatch, and calculate dates, ages or time-zone differences.

More tools

Network Tools

Check your IP and IPv6 connection, inspect HTTP requests or HAR files, and calculate CIDR address ranges.

Unit Conversions

Convert length, weight, temperature, data storage and other units.

Color Tools

Convert HEX, RGB and HSL values, extract colors from an image, check contrast, or test your display with solid colors.

QR Codes & Barcodes

Generate and scan QR codes or barcodes, including QR codes for links and Wi-Fi networks.

Developer & Security Tools

Generate hashes, UUIDs and passwords, test regular expressions, create URL slugs and check file permissions.

More tools

Utility Tools

Check screen resolution and refresh rate, measure with a screen ruler, test keys, or read from a teleprompter.

More tools

Games

2048, Minesweeper, Sudoku, Gomoku, Tank Battle

More tools