1
as in irritable
easily irritated or annoyed
how can you be so cheerful one day, and so perverse the next?
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in corrupt
having or showing lowered moral character or standards
social conservatives who believe that Hollywood is a perverse world that exerts an unhealthy influence on the young
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3
as in stubborn
sticking to an opinion, purpose, or course of action in spite of reason, arguments, or persuasion
a fact so self-evident that not even the most perverse of opponents could deny it
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4
as in inappropriate
not appropriate for a particular occasion or situation
a convicted criminal seemed like a perverse choice for a bank employee
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of perverse
Imposing a duty to monitor and act on worrisome content could create perverse incentives.
—
Anat Lior,
Fortune,
30 May 2026
Imposing a duty to monitor and act on worrisome content could create perverse incentives.
—
Anat Lior,
The Conversation,
26 May 2026
Bettors on the sites are making billions of dollars in trades every week, even as questions around insider trading and how the markets can create perverse incentives for people to manipulate real world outcomes continue to vex the companies.
—
Bobby Allyn,
NPR,
19 May 2026
But this idea—that the more motivated partisans are to discriminate against Black voters, the less racist that discrimination is—is a perverse inversion of the Fifteenth Amendment.
—
Adam Serwer,
The Atlantic,
19 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for perverse
Anat Lior,
Fortune,
30 May 2026
Imposing a duty to monitor and act on worrisome content could create perverse incentives.
—
Anat Lior,
The Conversation,
26 May 2026
Bettors on the sites are making billions of dollars in trades every week, even as questions around insider trading and how the markets can create perverse incentives for people to manipulate real world outcomes continue to vex the companies.
—
Bobby Allyn,
NPR,
19 May 2026
But this idea—that the more motivated partisans are to discriminate against Black voters, the less racist that discrimination is—is a perverse inversion of the Fifteenth Amendment.
—
Adam Serwer,
The Atlantic,
19 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for perverse
Recent Examples of Synonyms for perverse
Adjective
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The symptoms are so delayed that people often blame them on food poisoning, irritable-bowel syndrome, gluten intolerance.
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Cancer could be affectionate and chatty one moment, and withdrawn and irritable the next, with little to no explanation.
Adjective
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In reality, leaders on both sides are corrupt and always on the edge of disaster.
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My career actually focuses on bonding and preventing taxpayers from being on the hook for the failures of bankrupt and corrupt companies.
Adjective
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The weather service’s forecast discussion for Kansas City said the stubborn heat could last through the Fourth of July.
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Against all odds, the stubborn housing market has become a hotspot for young talent.
Adjective
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Murdaugh’s attorneys appealed the convictions, saying the trial was tainted by the county clerk Becky Hill’s inappropriate comments to jurors implying his guilt.
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Live streams and other unfiltered media can expose kids to risky or inappropriate content, so adult guidance is key.
Adjective
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Our previous card featured the fiery destruction of the Missouri Pacific depot in 1909.
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And the hottest of the bunch, the green, is a fiery combination of both jalapeños and green habaneros.
Adjective
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Faster delivery with degraded quality just accelerates technical debt and erodes user trust.
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Her days are spent growing coral fragments in nurseries, cleaning restoration structures, managing coral predators and transplanting coral onto degraded reefs.
Adjective
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And in Season Two, Survival of the Thickest went all out on a dream wedding for Peppermint, an idea Buteau was adamant about making it on screen.
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Advertisement Throughout negotiations, Tehran has been adamant that any cease-fire with Washington must also end the hostilities between Israeli forces and Hezbollah, and that any permanent truce must lead to Israel withdrawing its forces from southern Lebanon.
Adjective
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While the expiration of the enhanced ACA subsidies at the end of 2025 made insurance more expensive for millions of consumers, the HHS assistant secretary for planning and evaluation report cited efforts to crack down on improper signups.
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The agency is also asking visitors to the World Cup game or Fan Fest to report any unsafe or improper drone use to the FBI tipline at 1-800-CALL-FBI.
Cite this Entry
“Perverse.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/perverse. Accessed 5 Jul. 2026.
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