as in corrupts
to lower in character, dignity, or quality
the belief that pornography depraves society as a whole
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for depraves
Verb
-
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
Verb
-
Since genetic material degrades over time, mapping the genome of animals like these that died thousands of years ago is incredibly difficult.—
Laura Baisas,
Popular Science,
14 Jan. 2026
-
Venezuela may not be the sole source of cocaine, nor a major conduit for fentanyl, but dismantling a regime that actively protects and profits from transnational criminal networks unquestionably degrades those networks’ capacity to operate.—
Timothy M. Herbst,
Hartford Courant,
13 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
When CEOs treat financial advice as a substitute for judgment, leadership starts to erode, decisions slow down, and conviction weakens.—
Melissa Houston,
Forbes.com,
27 Jan. 2026
-
Trump’s focus on the Western Hemisphere — as a show of might that weakens China’s geostrategic influence, Nikkei wrote.—
Manal Albarakati,
semafor.com,
26 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
When those conditions are absent, performance deteriorates quickly.—
Katerin Le Folcalvez,
Fortune,
8 Jan. 2026
-
The Kyiv Post reported Thursday that Ukrainian military officials say Russian units left inside the city are cut off from reliable supply lines and are increasingly surrendering as their position deteriorates.—
Greg Wehner,
FOXNews.com,
26 Dec. 2025
Verb
-
Thecla humiliates him by ripping his robe and tearing the wreath off his head.—
Christy Cobb,
The Conversation,
16 Jan. 2026
-
To show him who’s boss, Catherine turns around and buys Pac-North, humiliates him by closing it, and forces him back to Grey Sloan.—
Maggie Fremont,
Vulture,
9 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
The film may initially present Man-su as a sympathetic family man trying to make ends meet, but Lee quickly subverts those sentiments once Man-su’s methodical process betrays no sense of remorse.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
6 Jan. 2026
-
Their work—black-and-white portraits, still-lifes, and advertising shots, some now on view at Robert Mann gallery—subverts an education in Bauhaus severity with playful, quirky Surrealism.—
Sheldon Pearce,
New Yorker,
21 Nov. 2025
Verb
-
Freddy Krueger debases the suburban American ideal through the dreams of teenagers in Nightmare on Elm Street.—
Rachel Raposas,
PEOPLE,
29 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
An excuse or explanation by itself, even while being transparent, destroys trust.—
Shep Hyken,
Forbes.com,
25 Jan. 2026
-
Beyond the immediate loss of land, erosion frequently exposes or destroys historic and archaeological sites.—
Kaif Shaikh,
Interesting Engineering,
14 Jan. 2026
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Cite this Entry
“Depraves.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/depraves. Accessed 31 Jan. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
