1
as in decomposes
to go through decomposition
a dead mouse corrupting in the walls produced a terrible smell
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of corrupts
His relationship with his Jewish neighbors, the Brodskys, grows closer as Nazi power corrupts France.
—
Los Angeles Times, 5 Feb. 2026
As Jay Jonah Atterbury, one of a handful of new characters on the fourth season of Industry, Kal Penn weaponizes and corrupts the stoner quirks viewers may recognize from his years playing Kumar Patel in the Harold & Kumar films.
—Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 12 Jan. 2026
Instead of a warning event, Expeditions imagines the historical fall that corrupts the Earth.
—Nola Taylor Tillman, Space.com, 21 Dec. 2025
Rather than simply attacking YoungBoy, Choppa frames himself as a corrective force, casting YoungBoy as someone who corrupts impressionable listeners.
—Jayson Buford, Rolling Stone, 3 Nov. 2025
Absolute power corrupts absolutely.
—Heidi Stevens, Chicago Tribune, 22 Aug. 2025
However, his songs eventually turn on each other and him when the newfound power corrupts them.
—Carly Thomas, HollywoodReporter, 3 Sep. 2019
Los Angeles Times, 5 Feb. 2026
As Jay Jonah Atterbury, one of a handful of new characters on the fourth season of Industry, Kal Penn weaponizes and corrupts the stoner quirks viewers may recognize from his years playing Kumar Patel in the Harold & Kumar films.
—Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 12 Jan. 2026
Instead of a warning event, Expeditions imagines the historical fall that corrupts the Earth.
—Nola Taylor Tillman, Space.com, 21 Dec. 2025
Rather than simply attacking YoungBoy, Choppa frames himself as a corrective force, casting YoungBoy as someone who corrupts impressionable listeners.
—Jayson Buford, Rolling Stone, 3 Nov. 2025
Absolute power corrupts absolutely.
—Heidi Stevens, Chicago Tribune, 22 Aug. 2025
However, his songs eventually turn on each other and him when the newfound power corrupts them.
—Carly Thomas, HollywoodReporter, 3 Sep. 2019
Recent Examples of Synonyms for corrupts
Verb
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The research team developed a route-planning system for Astrobee, the ISS’s robotic assistant, that leverages sequential convex programming—a method that decomposes complex trajectory planning into smaller, tractable steps while guaranteeing safety and feasibility.—
Jijo Malayil,
Interesting Engineering,
12 Dec. 2025
-
Shilajit is a mineral-rich resin that forms over centuries as plant material slowly decomposes under heat and pressure within the rocks of the Himalayan Mountains.—
Lindsay Curtis,
Verywell Health,
27 Nov. 2025
Verb
-
This is dangerous and degrades our country -- where are Senate Republicans?—
Justin Gomez,
ABC News,
6 Feb. 2026
-
The reactor facilitates rapid heat dissipation, preventing the thermal runaway that typically degrades catalysts.—
Mrigakshi Dixit,
Interesting Engineering,
5 Feb. 2026
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
-
If the American state disintegrates, future postmortems are unlikely to focus much on measles, or on rotavirus vaccination rates.—
Vann R. Newkirk II,
The Atlantic,
9 Feb. 2026
-
The debris – space rocks known as meteoroids – collides with Earth's atmosphere at high speed and disintegrates, creating fiery and colorful streaks in the sky, according to NASA.—
Eric Lagatta,
USA Today,
2 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Cutting the International Affairs Budget (which includes USAID) weakens our global leadership and can leave preventable crises to become a problem later on.—
Letters to the Editor,
The Orlando Sentinel,
13 Feb. 2026
-
That pattern weakens the polar vortex’s grip on cold air, allowing Arctic air to spill into the central and southern United States.—
Newsroom Meteorologist,
Houston Chronicle,
13 Feb. 2026
Verb
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The victim of his sacrifice is Gretchen, a virgin whom Faust seduces and abandons in his devilish reverie, and who kills their illegitimate child.—
Merve Emre,
New Yorker,
1 Dec. 2025
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The film follows the deliciously immoral, widowed Lady Susan Vernon (Kate Beckinsale), who maneuvers, deceives and seduces her way through London and across her relatives' country estates in an effort to find a wealthy husband for herself and her daughter, Frederica (Morfydd Clark).—
Andrea Wurzburger,
PEOPLE,
29 Nov. 2025
Verb
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The big differences between the labs probably reflect the fact that, as Italians like to say, the fish rots from the head.—
Caroline Mimbs Nyce,
New Yorker,
10 Feb. 2026
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Bacterial plant diseases include speck (a winter-surviving infection that attacks tomatoes), canker (which damages fruit trees including those producing apples and peaches), and blight (which rots melons, cucumbers, pumpkins, squash, peppers, tomatoes, eggplants, beans, and more).—
New Atlas,
New Atlas,
10 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Europe is tightening the net on Russian oil being shipped through its waters, squeezing Moscow’s ability to fund its war even as officials and business executives in Russia fear the window is narrowing to reach a peace deal before the economy deteriorates.—
Catherine Belton,
Washington Post,
5 Feb. 2026
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Emily Demirdonder, director of operations and marketing at Proximity Plumbing, said the rubber backing deteriorates in hot water and breaks apart during the spin cycle, and those fragments can block drain pumps and drainage pipes—sometimes leading to flooding and machine failure.—
Alesandra Dubin,
Southern Living,
28 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Corrupts.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/corrupts. Accessed 21 Feb. 2026.
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