Synonyms of corrupting

corrupting

verb

present participle of corrupt

1

as in decomposing

to go through decomposition

a dead mouse corrupting in the walls produced a terrible smell

Synonyms & Similar Words

• decomposing
• disintegrating
• decaying
• rotting
• molding
• spoiling
• perishing
• festering
• putrefying
• deteriorating
• fouling
• moldering
• falling apart
• contaminating
• crumbling
• polluting
• descending
• turning
• tainting
• souring
• defiling
• breaking down
• going to seed
• rusting
• fermenting
• degenerating
• mortifying
• curdling
• declining
• turning off
• sinking
• addling
• withering
• dilapidating

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• growing
• developing
• aging
• maturing
• restoring
• ripening
• renewing
• purifying
• cleansing
• integrating
• improving
• assembling
• refreshing
• composing
• ameliorating
• bettering
• meliorating

2

as in degrading

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

• degrading
• subverting
• weakening
• debauching
• perverting
• destroying
• deteriorating
• poisoning
• damaging
• diluting
• debasing
• depraving
• humiliating
• polluting
• ruining
• prostituting
• disgracing
• contaminating
• bastardizing
• lessening
• vitiating
• tainting
• cheapening
• demeaning
• profaning
• warping
• marring
• demoralizing
• harming
• cankering
• abasing
• impairing
• shaming
• wrecking
• hurting
• dirtying
• defiling
• thinning
• spoiling
• humbling
• dishonoring
• tarnishing
• watering down
• befouling
• staining
• descending
• defacing
• downgrading
• begriming
• depreciating
• taking down
• flawing
• blemishing

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• elevating
• improving
• uplifting
• honoring
• exalting
• enhancing
• enriching
• ennobling
• amending
• restoring
• perfecting
• ameliorating
• bettering
• cleaning
• respecting
• purifying
• refining
• cleansing
• dignifying
• clarifying
• meliorating

3

as in bribing

to influence someone with a bribe

he bragged about having corrupted half of the officials on the city council

Synonyms & Similar Words

• bribing
• seducing
• luring
• buying
• poisoning
• enticing
• having
• persuading
• provoking
• tempting
• squaring
• getting at
• paying off
• subverting
• depraving
• debauching
• tainting
• debasing
• defiling
• perverting
• degrading
• dishonoring
• inducing
• prostituting
• oiling the hand of
• motivating
• profaning
• warping
• spurring
• greasing the hand of
• demeaning
• tampering (with)
• stimulating
• alluring
• baiting
• trapping
• abasing
• beguiling
• fixing
• goading
• leading on
• flattering
• snaring

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of corrupting

Documentarian Alex Gibney is no stranger to dissections of corrupting power — from his feature dives into Enron, Elizabeth Holmes and Scientology. — Robert Abele, Los Angeles Times, 9 Oct. 2026

Delphi sits above a geologic vent, an X from which noxious gases escaped the earth, corrupting the minds of women who inhaled and pronounced their prophecies. — Literary Hub, 6 Oct. 2026

And by engaging with these powerful militaries, the group reinforced its self-image as a major regional player that was uniquely capable of liberating the Muslim world from corrupting American and Israeli influence. — April Longley Alley, Foreign Affairs, 11 Sep. 2026

Gadgets with screens of any size have long been allegedly melting, rotting, and/or corrupting the brains of youths for decades. — Beth Mole, ArsTechnica, 10 Sep. 2026

Instead, in trying to explain what made both Murdoch and Lamb tick in those early days, Boyle and Graham show us just how intoxicating and corrupting this kind of success can be. — Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 2 Sep. 2026

The Apology is Plato’s version of the speech of self-defense Socrates gives when he is tried by the city of Athens for corrupting the youth and not believing in the gods. — Agnes Callard, The New York Review of Books, 18 Aug. 2026

Validation rules, schema standards and completeness checks at the entry point prevent bad master data from corrupting everything downstream. — Jacqueline Destefano-Tangorra, Forbes.com, 4 Aug. 2026

Character also involves standing up to people who are bankrupting and corrupting this country. — CBS News, 31 May 2026