pervert

¹per·vert

transitive verb \pər-ˈvərt\

Definition of PERVERT

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

— per·vert·er noun

Examples of PERVERT

1. people who pervert their religion to support violence
2. They perverted the truth to help further their careers.
3. movies that pervert the minds of young people by glorifying violence

Origin of PERVERT

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: 14th century

Related to PERVERT

Synonyms

bend, color, cook, distort, falsify, fudge, misinterpret, misrelate, misrepresent, misstate, garble, slant, twist, warp

Antonyms

elevate, ennoble, uplift

Related Words

misdescribe, misspeak, mistranslate; belie, camouflage, disguise, dissemble, gloss (over), mask, veil, whitewash; bowdlerize, censor; complicate, confound, confuse, mistake, mix (up); mystify, obscure; equivocate, fib, lie, palter, prevaricate

Near Antonyms

clarify, clear (up), explain, illuminate, illustrate, interpret, spell out; decipher

See Synonym Discussion at debase

Rhymes with PERVERT

advert, alert, assert, avert, bellwort, birthwort, Blackshirt, brownshirt, bush shirt, camp shirt, colewort, concert, convert, covert, desert, dessert, dissert, divert, dress shirt, evert, exert, expert, exsert, figwort, fleawort, glasswort, hair shirt, Hastert, hornwort, inert, insert, invert, lousewort, lungwort, madwort, milkwort, mugwort, nightshirt, outskirt, overt, pay dirt, pilewort, ragwort, redshirt, revert, ribwort, saltwort, sandwort, Schubert, seagirt, sea squirt, soapwort, spearwort, spleenwort, stitchwort, stonewort, stuffed shirt, subvert, sweatshirt, toothwort, T-shirt, ungirt

²per·vert

noun \ˈpər-ˌvərt\

Definition of PERVERT

: one that has been perverted; specifically : one given to some form of sexual perversion

Examples of PERVERT

1. <longtime residents warned us not to go near the neighborhood pervert>

First Known Use of PERVERT

circa 1661

Related to PERVERT

Synonyms

backslider, debauchee, debaucher, decadent, deviate, libertine, perv, degenerate, profligate, rake, rakehell, rip

Related Words

bankrupt, delinquent, derelict, incorrigible; blackguard, cad, heel, knave, miscreant, rascal, reprobate, rogue, scoundrel, villain; lecher, playboy, playgirl, satyr

Near Antonyms

saint

Other Psychology Terms

fetish, hypochondria, intelligence, mania, narcissism, neurosis, pathological, psychosis, schadenfreude, subliminal