pervert

1 of 2

verb

per·​vert pər-ˈvərt How to pronounce pervert (audio)
perverted; perverting; perverts

transitive verb

1
a
: to cause to turn aside or away from what is good or true or morally right : corrupt
b
: to cause to turn aside or away from what is generally done or accepted : misdirect
2
a
: to divert to a wrong end or purpose : misuse
b
: to twist the meaning or sense of : misinterpret
perverter noun

pervert

2 of 2

noun

per·​vert ˈpər-ˌvərt How to pronounce pervert (audio)
: one that has been perverted
specifically : one given to some form of sexual perversion
Choose the Right Synonym for pervert

debase, vitiate, deprave, corrupt, debauch, pervert mean to cause deterioration or lowering in quality or character.

debase implies a loss of position, worth, value, or dignity.

commercialism has debased the holiday

vitiate implies a destruction of purity, validity, or effectiveness by allowing entrance of a fault or defect.

a foreign policy vitiated by partisanship

deprave implies moral deterioration by evil thoughts or influences.

the claim that society is depraved by pornography

corrupt implies loss of soundness, purity, or integrity.

the belief that bureaucratese corrupts the language

debauch implies a debasing through sensual indulgence.

the long stay on a tropical isle had debauched the ship's crew

pervert implies a twisting or distorting from what is natural or normal.

perverted the original goals of the institute

Examples of pervert in a Sentence

Verb people who pervert their religion to support violence They perverted the truth to help further their careers. movies that pervert the minds of young people by glorifying violence Noun a pervert who, because of years of bad choices, couldn't get a job
Recent Examples on the Web
Verb
Over the years, his innovation would be exploited and perverted beyond even his wildest dreams. David Fear, Rolling Stone, 4 Mar. 2024 Owens appreciates conventional beauty, if only for the thrill of perverting it; Lamy rejects it altogether. Nick Haramis Ola Rindal Dogukan Nesanir, New York Times, 16 Feb. 2024 Or maybe the devil, perverting and distorting the work of God, had hidden himself away in the Americas to forge a deranged parody of the Christian faith. Michelle Orange, Harper's Magazine, 3 Nov. 2023 Left-leaning students supporting Hamas are perverting otherwise sound concepts of intersectionality and oppression. WSJ, 7 Nov. 2023 Ultimately, the film asks tough questions about how capitalism has perverted the medical system in the United States, where pharmaceutical companies are more interested in quarterly profits than helping people. Brent Lang, Variety, 11 Sep. 2023 Opinion can be so perverted as to cause the false to seem the true; the enemy, a friend, and the friend, an enemy; the best interests of the nation to appear insignificant, and trifles of the moment; in a word, the right the wrong, and the wrong the right. Jay Nordlinger, National Review, 9 Oct. 2023 As a result, some touchy old stereotypes, appropriated by whites and perverted as minstrelsy, are reclaimed and reframed. Jesse Green, New York Times, 27 Sep. 2023 By contrast, Russian forces have perverted local authority in areas under their control. Nataliya Gumenyuk, Foreign Affairs, 24 Feb. 2023
Noun
The possibilities are endless as the tapestry of the colonial mind can penetrate purity and pervert a movement’s ideology. Philip Wolf, Rolling Stone, 31 Jan. 2024 Omegle, the video-chatting platform favored by bored teens and perverts that randomly paired users around the world, shut down on Wednesday night after nearly 14 years in operation, according to a farewell message posted by the site’s owner. Ej Dickson, Rolling Stone, 9 Nov. 2023 He has been called a pervert; I have been called a gold digger. Carolyn Hax, Washington Post, 17 Oct. 2023 Russo explored a subject that had previously been viewed by moviegoers simply as the way things were — the treatment of gay people as pansies and wimps, perverts and tragedies, serial killers and suicides. Mark Harris, New York Times, 17 Aug. 2023 Doesn’t matter as long as the drooling creep with requisite glasses and pervert mustache gets his head slammed against a table once more. Miles Klee, Rolling Stone, 7 July 2023 Three Federal Court judges ruled that articles published by Sydney’s The Daily Telegraph newspaper in 2017 implied Rush was a pervert and that the trial judge had correctly included the actor's loss of earnings in calculating damages. Rod McGuirk, USA TODAY, 3 July 2020 In 1989, when People magazine put you on the cover, you were treated like a pervert. Andrew Goldman, Vulture, 6 Jan. 2022 Abbasi seems enamored by the contradictions of Hanaei, who was at once an upstanding Muslim, a family man, a pervert and a ruthless killer. Mark Olsenstaff Writer, Los Angeles Times, 4 Nov. 2022

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'pervert.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Verb

Middle English, from Anglo-French purvertir, pervertir, from Latin pervertere to overturn, corrupt, pervert, from per- thoroughly + vertere to turn — more at per-, worth

First Known Use

Verb

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Noun

1501, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of pervert was in the 14th century

Dictionary Entries Near pervert

Cite this Entry

“Pervert.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pervert. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

pervert

1 of 2 verb
per·​vert pər-ˈvərt How to pronounce pervert (audio)
1
: to cause to turn away from what is good or true or right : corrupt
2
: to put to a wrong use
3
: to give a wrong meaning to : misinterpret

pervert

2 of 2 noun
per·​vert ˈpər-ˌvərt How to pronounce pervert (audio)
: one that is perverted
especially : one given to some form of sexual perversion

Medical Definition

pervert

1 of 2 transitive verb
per·​vert pər-ˈvərt How to pronounce pervert (audio)
: to cause to engage in perversion or to become perverted

pervert

2 of 2 noun
per·​vert ˈpər-ˌvərt How to pronounce pervert (audio)
: one that has been perverted
specifically : one given to some form of sexual perversion

More from Merriam-Webster on pervert

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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