as in rotten
having undergone organic breakdown
corrupted corpses that sickened the animal control officers sent to investigate
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in decomposed
to go through decomposition
a dead mouse corrupting in the walls produced a terrible smell
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in degraded
to lower in character, dignity, or quality
some observers believe that grossly violent movies corrupt the people who watch them as well as the people who make them
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in bribed
to influence someone with a bribe
he bragged about having corrupted half of the officials on the city council
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of corrupted
Kristen Roupenian, New Yorker, 6 Apr. 2026
And then as with all of those artists that are beyond music but are actually cultural icons, all of the corruptive things come, and the body becomes corrupted.
—Chris Willman, Variety, 23 Feb. 2026
Only the corrupted mediums of mass communication have changed.
—David Fear, Rolling Stone, 21 Feb. 2026
But digital forensics experts kept working to find images in back-end software that might have been lost, corrupted or inaccessible.
—ABC News, 15 Feb. 2026
Blakeney is described as accepting bribes from Fairley and Hennen and recruiting other players from the Dragons to join a scheme that undermined the integrity of games and corrupted wagers.
—Michael McCann, Sportico.com, 15 Jan. 2026
Visual elements seem corrupted.
—Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 7 Jan. 2026
After all, Eleven inadvertently created Vecna (and the Upside Down)—another powerful child could open a new bridge to the Abyss, or become corrupted, as Henry was.
—Dani Di Placido, Forbes.com, 4 Jan. 2026
Two decades later, the past reawakens when an email from the missing girl triggers the same sinister pop-up, pulling her childhood friends into a corrupted corner of the internet—and into the heart of Japan’s most chilling digital myth.
—Andreas Wiseman, Deadline, 4 Dec. 2025
Andy Andersen, Vulture, 23 Mar. 2026
Helberg, cast as inventor Martin Phister, opens up about their characters who are trying to be virtuous and end up getting corrupted instead.
—Marta Balaga, Variety, 21 Mar. 2026
He’s corrupted from the inside by a system that has no regard for his humanity.
—Theater Critic, Los Angeles Times, 18 Mar. 2026
During closing arguments that spanned two days, prosecutors drove home their argument that Jones and Dowling purposely corrupted Public Utilities Commission of Ohio chair-to-be Sam Randazzo for their own benefit.
—ABC News, 17 Mar. 2026
Because the Republican Party and the conservative movement have both been so deeply corrupted.
—David Frum, The Atlantic, 18 Feb. 2026
But, if the release of the Epstein files has accomplished anything, it’s been to demonstrate how, on both sides of the Atlantic, systems corrupted by money are ripe for reform.
—John Cassidy, New Yorker, 16 Feb. 2026
American culture will not be mocked or corrupted without consequence.
—Raechal Shewfelt, Entertainment Weekly, 11 Feb. 2026
Finance professors rarely research NFL officiating, but the authors’ interest in regulatory capture—when regulators are corrupted by the entities they’re supposed to be regulating—led them to a trove of useful data.
—Emil Steiner, Forbes.com, 30 Jan. 2026
Adjective
Her work plainly belongs to this lineage of witchy writers, women whose deliciously corrupted scenes of home and hearth produce fear and wild laughter at once.
—Kristen Roupenian, New Yorker, 6 Apr. 2026
And then as with all of those artists that are beyond music but are actually cultural icons, all of the corruptive things come, and the body becomes corrupted.
—Chris Willman, Variety, 23 Feb. 2026
Only the corrupted mediums of mass communication have changed.
—David Fear, Rolling Stone, 21 Feb. 2026
But digital forensics experts kept working to find images in back-end software that might have been lost, corrupted or inaccessible.
—ABC News, 15 Feb. 2026
Blakeney is described as accepting bribes from Fairley and Hennen and recruiting other players from the Dragons to join a scheme that undermined the integrity of games and corrupted wagers.
—Michael McCann, Sportico.com, 15 Jan. 2026
Visual elements seem corrupted.
—Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 7 Jan. 2026
After all, Eleven inadvertently created Vecna (and the Upside Down)—another powerful child could open a new bridge to the Abyss, or become corrupted, as Henry was.
—Dani Di Placido, Forbes.com, 4 Jan. 2026
Two decades later, the past reawakens when an email from the missing girl triggers the same sinister pop-up, pulling her childhood friends into a corrupted corner of the internet—and into the heart of Japan’s most chilling digital myth.
—Andreas Wiseman, Deadline, 4 Dec. 2025
Verb
Goodwill is corrupted on arrival by the modern virtue of avarice.
—Andy Andersen, Vulture, 23 Mar. 2026
Helberg, cast as inventor Martin Phister, opens up about their characters who are trying to be virtuous and end up getting corrupted instead.
—Marta Balaga, Variety, 21 Mar. 2026
He’s corrupted from the inside by a system that has no regard for his humanity.
—Theater Critic, Los Angeles Times, 18 Mar. 2026
During closing arguments that spanned two days, prosecutors drove home their argument that Jones and Dowling purposely corrupted Public Utilities Commission of Ohio chair-to-be Sam Randazzo for their own benefit.
—ABC News, 17 Mar. 2026
Because the Republican Party and the conservative movement have both been so deeply corrupted.
—David Frum, The Atlantic, 18 Feb. 2026
But, if the release of the Epstein files has accomplished anything, it’s been to demonstrate how, on both sides of the Atlantic, systems corrupted by money are ripe for reform.
—John Cassidy, New Yorker, 16 Feb. 2026
American culture will not be mocked or corrupted without consequence.
—Raechal Shewfelt, Entertainment Weekly, 11 Feb. 2026
Finance professors rarely research NFL officiating, but the authors’ interest in regulatory capture—when regulators are corrupted by the entities they’re supposed to be regulating—led them to a trove of useful data.
—Emil Steiner, Forbes.com, 30 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for corrupted
Adjective
-
Facing eviction, this next generation of ‘rotten’ kids plot to break into the factory, nab a priceless Wonka Bar, and save their homes.—
Lily Ford,
HollywoodReporter,
16 Apr. 2026
-
Hamlet reminds us that things are rotten not just in the state of Denmark but just about everywhere.—
Bilge Ebiri,
Vulture,
14 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
The body was so badly decomposed that the deceased’s gender could not be determined, said police.—
Colin Mixson,
New York Daily News,
17 Apr. 2026
-
Clements said the mistaken identification may have happened because the creature decomposed and lost its telltale shell before it was fossilized, complicating identification.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
9 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Excavators sifted through sandy soil degraded by more than a century of cranberry production that formed a thick, hard layer over the natural freshwater wetlands the farms were built on.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
15 Apr. 2026
-
Karácsony is one of those decent, upstanding politicians which degraded systems sometimes throw up unexpectedly.—
Kapil Komireddi,
New Yorker,
10 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
According to grand jury transcripts disclosed by the DOJ from the criminal case against Noel, an FBI agent testified banking records of the guards were examined, and there was no evidence that Noel or Thomas had been bribed.—
Peter Charalambous,
ABC News,
13 Mar. 2026
-
Husted was Ohio's lieutenant governor-elect in early 2019, when prosecutors claim Jones and Dowling bribed the late Randazzo in exchange for legislative and regulatory favors.—
JULIE CARR SMYTH THE ASSOCIATED PRESS,
Arkansas Online,
12 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
Hally’s vindictive turn is a betrayal, not just of their bond, but of the dream of a more equitable South Africa that could tolerate a Black man being a mentor to a spoiled, brokenhearted white kid.—
Theater Critic,
Los Angeles Times,
17 Apr. 2026
-
Those items were immediately discarded, and staff received additional guidance on properly identifying and removing spoiled produce.—
Jasmine Arenas,
CBS News,
15 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
This correlation survived as the quarks formed hyperons and persisted even after the hyperons decayed in less than a tenth of a billionth of a second.—
Chris Young,
Interesting Engineering,
9 Apr. 2026
-
If these materials are already partly decayed, they’re called compost.—
Beth Botts,
Chicago Tribune,
15 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
With the war in Iraq raging, the 84-year-old pope, weakened by Parkinson’s disease and less than a year from his death, condemned the war in Iraq with Bush sitting right next to him.—
Orlando Sentinel,
The Orlando Sentinel,
15 Apr. 2026
-
Hezbollah, though weakened in its last war with Israel that ended in November 2024, still fires drones, rockets and artillery daily into northern Israel and on ground troops inside Lebanon.—
Kareem Chehayeb,
Los Angeles Times,
14 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Inside, a fuzzy white possum, seduced by cat food, sits, befuddled.—
Bill Kearney,
Sun Sentinel,
19 Apr. 2026
-
In an industry often seduced by scale and swagger, Claire offers something far more enduring.—
Julie Lin,
Condé Nast Traveler,
10 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Corrupted.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/corrupted. Accessed 20 Apr. 2026.
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