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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of corrupts
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
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
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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
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But that study measured the shoes after 280 miles, leaving it unclear how much the foam degrades in 50 or 100 miles.—
Jonathan Beverly,
Outside,
26 Dec. 2025
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As the biofilm degrades, sludge settles in a secondary clarifier.—
Aamir Khollam,
Interesting Engineering,
18 Dec. 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 – 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
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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.—
Doris Alvarez Cea,
Florida Times-Union,
2 Jan. 2026
Verb
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An overreliance on tools weakens our civilization (and saps the film’s dramatic thrills).—
Amy Nicholson,
Los Angeles Times,
9 Jan. 2026
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Ignoring this reality weakens any serious climate plan.—
Voice of the People,
New York Daily News,
9 Jan. 2026
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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Critics have long warned that too much television rots your brain, but new evidence suggests at least some time in front of the tube may actually benefit your mental health.—
Andrew Paul,
Popular Science,
7 Jan. 2026
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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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The Backyard cast also features Katie MacNichol as Gladys’ daughter Ellen, Alexander Ameen as Ellen’s husband Howard, and William Huffaker as a young painter from Boston named Don Bowman whom Gladys seeks to help even as her mental state deteriorates.—
David L. Coddon,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
7 Nov. 2025
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As the situation deteriorates, the United Kingdom, the United States and Germany among others have urged their nationals to leave Bamako.—
Tim Lister,
CNN Money,
2 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Corrupts.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/corrupts. Accessed 11 Jan. 2026.
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