as in degraded
having or showing lowered moral character or standards
corrupt businessmen who are out to fleece the public corrupt business practices that should be investigated
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in to rot
to go through decomposition
a dead mouse corrupting in the walls produced a terrible smell
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to degrade
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 to bribe
to influence someone with a bribe
he bragged about having corrupted half of the officials on the city council
Synonyms & Similar Words
as in corruption
a sinking to a state of low moral standards and behavior
such corruptness in government threatens our democratic institutions
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of corrupt
Andy Crump, Time, 26 Apr. 2025
He’s been accused of entering into a corrupt deal with the Trump administration, helping the president’s immigration agenda in exchange for his federal corruption case getting dropped.
—Sheetal Banchariya, New York Daily News, 22 Apr. 2025
Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 14 Apr. 2025
The show followed an ensemble of one-percenters at the titular resort in Hawaii, observing how their privilege blinds them to reality and corrupts everyone around them, leading to conflicts, cruelty, and, eventually, violence.
—Sophie Gilbert, The Atlantic, 8 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for corrupt
Adjective
One of them is corrupt politician Lawrence Beaumont (Forest Whitaker), who longs to reconcile with his estranged son, Charlie (Justin Cornwell).
—Andy Crump, Time, 26 Apr. 2025
He’s been accused of entering into a corrupt deal with the Trump administration, helping the president’s immigration agenda in exchange for his federal corruption case getting dropped.
—Sheetal Banchariya, New York Daily News, 22 Apr. 2025
Verb
Stuart Miller, Boynton Beach Seven memorable words Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.
—Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 14 Apr. 2025
The show followed an ensemble of one-percenters at the titular resort in Hawaii, observing how their privilege blinds them to reality and corrupts everyone around them, leading to conflicts, cruelty, and, eventually, violence.
—Sophie Gilbert, The Atlantic, 8 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for corrupt
Recent Examples of Synonyms for corrupt
Adjective
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This new species was found around villages and gardens, as well as in degraded habitats at a mine site.—
Stories by Real-Time news team, with AI summarization,
Miami Herald,
18 Apr. 2025
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First, one neural network takes high-quality images from one instrument and simulates degraded images as if they were taken by a different, lower-quality instrument.—
Sharmila Kuthunur,
Space.com,
17 Apr. 2025
Verb
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He cannot be allowed to rot in an El Salvadorian jail.—
Thomas G. Moukawsher,
MSNBC Newsweek,
17 Apr. 2025
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Unless someone inside the federal government continues to ensure the liquid nitrogen doesn’t totally evaporate, the samples will eventually defrost and begin to rot, according to three staff researchers who work with such materials.—
Caroline Haskins,
Wired News,
17 Apr. 2025
Verb
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Yields usually fall when fear is dominating markets, but their surprising earlier rise stirred fears that Trump’s trade war was degrading the U.S. bond market’s status as one of the world’s safest places to keep cash.—
Stan Choe,
Los Angeles Times,
24 Apr. 2025
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Unlike many other archaeological sites in Sweden, where acidic soil degrades organic material, Strandvägen’s conditions have allowed organic material to survive for many years, as Gummesson tells the publication.—
Sonja Anderson,
Smithsonian Magazine,
24 Apr. 2025
Verb
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But the alleged loopholes in the carrier’s security may refer to how hackers previously tried to bribe T-Mobile employees into engineering SIM swaps.—
Michael Kan,
PC Magazine,
28 Mar. 2025
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His administration has even rolled back anti-corruption measures that prevent foreign governments from bribing U.S. government officials.—
Faisal Kutty,
Newsweek,
11 Mar. 2025
Noun
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The Trump administration is substantially scaling back the State Department's annual reports on international human rights to remove longstanding critiques of abuses such as harsh prison conditions, government corruption and restrictions on participation in the political process, NPR has learned.—
Graham Smith,
NPR,
18 Apr. 2025
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Thao has since been indicted for bribery and corruption.—
Jonathan Easley,
The Hill,
17 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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Steward said his daughter, while surfing nearby, became sick with an infection from a type of bacteria called MRSA, which is resistant to many antibiotics.—
Ian James,
Los Angeles Times,
23 Apr. 2025
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It seems squarely aimed at making kids sick by discouraging vaccination.—
Dan Vergano,
Scientific American,
23 Apr. 2025
Verb
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However, when viruses were exposed to sunlight, many of them did not survive as long, decaying in under 24 hours.—
Jack Knudson,
Discover Magazine,
13 Mar. 2025
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The result was not only environmental catastrophe but license for unchecked consumption of cheap plastic goods that can take a few minutes to use but hundreds of years to decay.—
Scott W. Stern,
The Atlantic,
10 Mar. 2025
Verb
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From the outset, Nortec’s work challenged conventions, subverting stereotypes of Mexican identity — like the outsider trope of the gun-slinging charro donning a weed plant shirt in a lawless Tijuana — while exploring new artistic terrain.—
Isabela Raygoza,
Billboard,
18 Apr. 2025
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Some accused him of overlooking the Democrats’ role in subverting democratic norms, citing, for example, President Obama’s embrace of executive power, or the Democratic attempt to filibuster Neil M. Gorsuch’s nomination to the Supreme Court.—
Kate Linthicum,
Los Angeles Times,
16 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Corrupt.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/corrupt. Accessed 3 May. 2025.
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