Definition of corruption
1a : dishonest or illegal behavior especially by powerful people (such as government officials or police officers) : depravityb : decay, decomposition the corruption of a carcassc : inducement to wrong by improper or unlawful means (such as bribery) the corruption of government officialsd : a departure from the original or from what is pure or correct the corruption of a text the corruption of computer files
2 archaic : an agency or influence that corrupts
3 chiefly dialectal : pus
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Examples of corruption in a Sentence
There are rumors of widespread corruption in the city government.
the mafia's corruption of public officials
corruption of the English language
computer software that is supposed to prevent the corruption of files
the corruption of a text
Recent Examples of corruption from the Web
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But despite Mr Khan’s cricket-star appeal and his anti-corruption platform, his party has made little headway elsewhere.
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Ukrainska Pravda was long a thorn in the side of Ukraine’s corruption-ridden elite.
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A speaker of the House was indicted on corruption charges and sent to federal prison during this time.
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And all of these people—Veselnitskaya, Katsyv fils and père, Yakunin and Putin—presumably hate the Magnitsky Act, the U.S. measure that punishes Russian officials responsible for the death of anti-corruption lawyer Sergei Magnitsky.
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Ronald Watts had their convictions tossed out of court this week, making them the latest to have their names cleared because of Watts' corruption.
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Philadelphia District Attorney R. Seth Williams faces up to five years in prison after abruptly pleading guilty Thursday to a federal corruption charge, nearly two weeks into his trial, according to prosecutors.
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Rodrigo Janot has charged Temer with alleged passive corruption and stated there are indications of other crimes that need to be investigated, according to documents filed at the Supreme Court.
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And in recent years, the South Florida recovery industry has been rife with corruption.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'corruption.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Origin and Etymology of corruption
see 1corrupt
Other Legal Terms
CORRUPTION Defined for English Language Learners
corruption
playDefinition of corruption for English Language Learners
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: dishonest or illegal behavior especially by powerful people (such as government officials or police officers)
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: the act of corrupting someone or something
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: something that has been changed from its original form
CORRUPTION Defined for Kids
corruption
playDefinition of corruption for Students
1 : dishonest or illegal behavior corruption in politics
2 : the process of causing someone else to do something wrong … the little scene that I had overheard was the last act in the corruption of one of the honest hands … — Robert Louis Stevenson, Treasure Island
3 : the act of changing or damaging something the corruption of an ancient text the corruption of a computer file
Learn More about corruption
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See words that rhyme with corruption Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for corruption Spanish Central: Translation of corruption Nglish: Translation of corruption for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of corruption for Arabic speakers Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about corruption
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