as in to corrupt
to lower in character, dignity, or quality
the belief that pornography depraves society as a whole
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Recent Examples of deprave
The company goes on to say the infringing product depraves Levi’s its rights to use and control its trademark and maintain its reputation with consumers, licensees and collaborators and allows others to believe the distinctive features of the Tab trademark may be misappropriated for their use.
—
Angela Velasquez, Sourcing Journal, 3 Jan. 2025
They are depraved on account of being deprived.
—Matthew Continetti, National Review, 14 Dec. 2024
The company goes on to say the infringing product depraves Levi’s its rights to use and control its trademark and maintain its reputation with consumers, licensees and collaborators and allows others to believe the distinctive features of the Tab trademark may be misappropriated for their use.
—Angela Velasquez, Sourcing Journal, 3 Jan. 2025
All writings, unpalatable for one section of the society, cannot be labeled as obscene, vulgar, depraving, prurient and immoral. . . .
—Amitava Kumar, The New Yorker, 12 Dec. 2019
This is especially true when the news operation is clearly on the side of righteousness against a policy as depraved this.
—David Zurawik, baltimoresun.com, 15 June 2018
This series follows the trails of their obsession, and takes a deep dive into the killers’ depraved psyches to reveal their darkest secrets as investigators close in to end the killer’s reign of terror.
—Michael O'Connell, The Hollywood Reporter, 9 Apr. 2018
McDonagh complicates Mildred's story by showing how the lust for justice can grow depraved the longer it is denied — a favorite subject of dramatists going back to Aeschylus.
—Charles McNulty, latimes.com, 1 Mar. 2018
As depraved a forum as Twitter can be at times, one of its redeeming characteristics is its users' penchant for outing liars in real time.
—Matthew Martinez, star-telegram, 18 Feb. 2018
Angela Velasquez, Sourcing Journal, 3 Jan. 2025
They are depraved on account of being deprived.
—Matthew Continetti, National Review, 14 Dec. 2024
The company goes on to say the infringing product depraves Levi’s its rights to use and control its trademark and maintain its reputation with consumers, licensees and collaborators and allows others to believe the distinctive features of the Tab trademark may be misappropriated for their use.
—Angela Velasquez, Sourcing Journal, 3 Jan. 2025
All writings, unpalatable for one section of the society, cannot be labeled as obscene, vulgar, depraving, prurient and immoral. . . .
—Amitava Kumar, The New Yorker, 12 Dec. 2019
This is especially true when the news operation is clearly on the side of righteousness against a policy as depraved this.
—David Zurawik, baltimoresun.com, 15 June 2018
This series follows the trails of their obsession, and takes a deep dive into the killers’ depraved psyches to reveal their darkest secrets as investigators close in to end the killer’s reign of terror.
—Michael O'Connell, The Hollywood Reporter, 9 Apr. 2018
McDonagh complicates Mildred's story by showing how the lust for justice can grow depraved the longer it is denied — a favorite subject of dramatists going back to Aeschylus.
—Charles McNulty, latimes.com, 1 Mar. 2018
As depraved a forum as Twitter can be at times, one of its redeeming characteristics is its users' penchant for outing liars in real time.
—Matthew Martinez, star-telegram, 18 Feb. 2018
Recent Examples of Synonyms for deprave
Verb
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Imagine an attacker subtly corrupting the data that trains a spam filter or fraud detector—the AI might then start letting threats slip through or flagging the wrong items.—
Ronen Cojocaru,
Forbes.com,
20 June 2025
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The peasants followed out of a need to earn a living, but they were frequently corrupted by the ideals of luxury and idleness exemplified by the rich, further driving them into poverty.—
Ben Woollard,
JSTOR Daily,
18 June 2025
Verb
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Customer service was once rated among the highest in the American Customer Satisfaction Index – until relentless budget cuts started to degrade it.—
Teresa Ghilarducci,
Forbes.com,
7 July 2025
-
But, unlike metal drill bits, which generally last for years, these enabling molecules are designed to degrade very quickly, falling apart within a few days at most.—
Paul Sisson,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
6 July 2025
Verb
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Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is 86 years-old and his political power is weakened following the short war with Israel.—
Jackie Northam,
NPR,
9 July 2025
-
The June jobs report showed strong headline numbers, but the underlying data pointed to a weakening labor market.—
Danny Bakst,
Fortune,
9 July 2025
Verb
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The atmosphere, at once debauched and sombre, felt like a wake, one attendee said.—
Rachel Monroe,
New Yorker,
18 Apr. 2025
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But as commercialization took hold, the event metastasized into a pit of hard drugs, drunkenness, and debauch a world apart from its bohemian origins.—
Charlie Campbell,
TIME,
17 Mar. 2025
Verb
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Andrew faces charges of obstructing a coroner in the execution of his or her duty, as well as doing an act tending and intended to pervert the course of public justice.—
Gabrielle Rockson,
People.com,
21 Mar. 2025
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In his eyes, a Jew who fails to share that outlook becomes the monster of traditional antisemitic lore: something perverted from its essential nature.—
Robert Helfand,
Hartford Courant,
21 May 2025
Verb
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The final scene subverted what was previously known about Dave, a man established to be a passionate investigator and aspiring writer trapped in a complicated relationship.—
Raven Brunner,
People.com,
28 June 2025
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Erotic surrender alone will not subvert or even really trouble the monarchy, which requires its own elaborately binding outfits and public displays of intimacy.—
Helen Shaw,
New Yorker,
26 June 2025
Verb
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Then two of his classmates did something magical. 'And I was humiliated again' The story Griffin started to tell began in first grade just after his family moved from one part of his suburban New York town to another, and Griffin was the new kid in school.—
Brad Schmitt,
The Tennessean,
2 July 2025
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Why risk thousands of dollars to be humiliated and possibly denied entry?—
MSNBC Newsweek,
MSNBC Newsweek,
13 June 2025
Verb
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Prior to foreign hunters visiting Uruguay and providing a financial incentive to keep the birds’ populations healthy, ducks were often poisoned en masse because they were seen as little more than crop raiders.—
Chris Dorsey,
Forbes.com,
30 June 2025
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Has sports gambling poisoned the relationship between athletes and fans?—
Gabrielle Starr,
Boston Herald,
27 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Deprave.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/deprave. Accessed 12 Jul. 2025.
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