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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FIFA has also conducted internal investigations of corruption and self-dealing that led it to ban its former president, Sepp Blatter, and longtime secretary general, Jerome Valcke.
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The spot also comes amid a Chicago Tribune story published Wednesday that Pritzker and Blagojevich were captured on a wiretap in 2008 discussing potential political appointments as the FBI investigated Blagojevich for corruption.
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President Xi Jinping has made a public corruption crackdown a central issue since late 2012.
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The reason for the Underwoods’ apparent defeat—dampened enthusiasm among Democrats for their technocratic candidate accused of corruption—also seemed plenty familiar.
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This approach dovetails with the corruption crackdown that President Xi Jinping has used to cement both his grip on power and his own popularity.
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This deal essentially constitutes the singularity of corruption and represents all that is broken with our global politics.
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Meanwhile, corruption scandals have sucked in Pena Nieto and his family—
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Reports surfaced last week that President Michel Temer is embroiled in corruption allegations.
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
First Known Use: 14th century
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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