perversion

noun per·ver·sion \ pər-ˈvər-zhən , -shən \

Updated on: 9 Mar 2018

Definition of perversion

1 : the action of perverting : the condition of being perverted

2 : a perverted form; especially : an aberrant sexual practice or interest especially when habitual

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Examples of perversion in a Sentence

They fought against perversion of the health-care system.
claimed that rap and rock music were responsible for the perversion of the nation's young people

Recent Examples of perversion from the Web

And that's a real perversion of what ought to happen.

— ryan d'agostino, Esquire, "The Drugging of the American Boy," 27 Mar. 2014
Drag, to Charles, is about the perversion of our understanding of gender, and by extension, ourselves.

— jenna wortham, New York Times, "Is ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race’ the Most Radical Show on TV?," 24 Jan. 2018
This was serial misconduct and perversion on the part of Mr. Trump.

— alex shephard, New Republic, "Is Donald Trump’s #MeToo immunity coming to an end?," 11 Dec. 2017
Principled Christian leaders, including the National Association of Evangelicals and the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, have rejected these perversions, in particular Trump’s refusal to help refugees.

— william saletan, Slate Magazine, "How Trump is warping Christianity for his own gain.," 3 Feb. 2017
This is a gross perversion of justice and is corrosive to American policy.

— oren litwin, National Review, "Terrorism Financing: It’s Time to Take Care of Unfinished Business," 6 Oct. 2017
That was a horrifying emotional perversion of a parent-child relationship, almost worse than his initial crime.

— mallory ortberg, Slate Magazine, "I Blamed the Victim," 18 July 2017
Since Augustine of Hippo, black and Catholic people have always been members of the Church, and the notion that Catholicism is a white religion is a perversion.

— emma green, The Atlantic, "There Are More Black Catholics in the U.S. Than Members of the A.M.E. Church," 5 Nov. 2017
An early guitar hero, and one who proved extremely influential on future perversions of the instrument within the rock genre.

— andrew unterberger, Billboard, "The 2018 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Nominees: Who Will Actually Get In?," 5 Oct. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'perversion.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.