depraved

adjective

de·​praved di-ˈprāvd 

: marked by corruption or evil

a depraved attack

especially : perverted

the work of depraved minds

depravedly

di-ˈprā-vəd-lē 

-ˈprāvd-lē

adverb

depravedness

di-ˈprā-vəd-nəs 

-ˈprāvd-nəs

noun

Synonyms

• corrupt
• debased
• debauched
• decadent
• degenerate
• degraded
• demoralized
• dissipated
• dissolute
• jackleg
• libertine
• loose
• perverse
• perverted
• rakehell
• rakehelly
• rakish
• reprobate
• sick
• unclean
• unwholesome
• warped

Examples of depraved in a Sentence

the work of depraved minds

He acted with depraved indifference to human suffering.

Recent Examples on the Web

In an era that looked as if it might be defined by an American man of depraved cruelty, corruption, and shame, what a magnificent thing the Catholic Church has done. —Jason Lemon, MSNBC Newsweek, 10 May 2025

Body counts on the screen like some depraved sports scorecard. —Stan Godlewski, Hartford Courant, 3 May 2025

And when he was done with his depraved act, Rojas did not run, according to prosecutors. —Leonard Greene, New York Daily News, 29 Apr. 2025

Ontario County District Attorney James Ritts said all five suspects have all been charged with second-degree murder under the state's depraved indifference statute. —Bill Hutchinson, ABC News, 17 Feb. 2025

Word History

Etymology

see deprave

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for depraved

• autoclaved
• misbehaved
• behaved
• engraved
• enslaved
• unpaved
• unsaved
• braved
• caved
• craved
• paved
• raved

Legal Definition

depraved

adjective

de·​praved di-ˈprāvd 

: marked by moral corruption or perversion as shown by a capacity for extreme and wanton physical cruelty

the depraved state of mind of the murderer

the depraved nature of the crime