1
as in decomposes
to go through decomposition
a dead mouse corrupting in the walls produced a terrible smell
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in degrades
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 bribes
to influence someone with a bribe
he bragged about having corrupted half of the officials on the city council
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Recent Examples of corrupts
Absolute power corrupts absolutely.
—
Heidi Stevens, Chicago Tribune, 22 Aug. 2025
Heidi Stevens, Chicago Tribune, 22 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for corrupts
Verb
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When leaves fall to the ground, the carbon stays in these leaves, breaks down, and decomposes and releases nutrients back into the soil that plants can take in.—
Saleen Martin,
USA Today,
14 Sep. 2025
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The calculation, called the Fourier transform, decomposes any function into its parts.—
Shalma Wegsman,
Quanta Magazine,
3 Sep. 2025
Verb
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This process degrades the mirrors' reflectivity and clarity over time, so technicians regularly recoat and polish them to ensure the best precision.—
Kenna Hughes-Castleberry,
Space.com,
6 Oct. 2025
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That performance degrades over time.—
Andrew Edgecliffe-Johnson,
semafor.com,
3 Oct. 2025
Verb
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In one of the film’s most madcap and darkly comedic moments, Linda bribes her daughter with the promise of a pet hamster — who turns out to be a biter, desperate to escape its box.—
Rachel Brodsky,
Rolling Stone,
8 Oct. 2025
Verb
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The debris collides with Earth's atmosphere at high speed and disintegrates, creating fiery and colorful streaks in the sky.—
Jenna Prestininzi,
Freep.com,
12 Aug. 2025
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Recruits typically come from deprived areas, and as Russia’s economy disintegrates in slow motion, the bonanza offered by the army looks increasingly appealing.—
David Hambling,
Forbes.com,
7 Aug. 2025
Verb
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Broken heart syndrome, which is more formally known as takotsubo cardiomyopathy, occurs when the heart muscle weakens temporarily and causes similar serious health concerns to those of a heart attack.—
Audrey Noble,
Vogue,
8 Oct. 2025
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That’s a three-year gap that may require retirees to withdraw a much larger percentage of their portfolio to cover, leaving them open to greater risk if the market weakens significantly.—
Medora Lee,
USA Today,
5 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Everything about the scene seduces the viewer into what dining while traveling in the most luxurious fashion could be, and once was.—
Kristin L. Wolfe,
Forbes.com,
27 Aug. 2025
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In his youth, the blue-eyed Stamp was widely considered one of the most handsome men onscreen, and Italian director Pier Paolo Pasolini used that to peculiar effect in Teorema (1968), casting the actor as a nameless and wordless visitor who seduces an entire household.—
Rhett Bartlett,
HollywoodReporter,
17 Aug. 2025
Verb
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If Britain continues down the path of criminalizing thought and prayer, the alliance risks being reduced to polite diplomacy while its moral core rots away.—
Lois McLatchie Miller,
MSNBC Newsweek,
20 Aug. 2025
Verb
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There is still plenty of long-term risk, depending on the rate at which Connor’s game deteriorates in his 30s.—
Murat Ates,
New York Times,
9 Oct. 2025
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Breaking them down to save for a later date isn’t enough, as bugs will still nestle their way in even as the cardboard deteriorates.—
Mary Cornetta,
Better Homes & Gardens,
1 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Corrupts.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/corrupts. Accessed 16 Oct. 2025.
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