as in irritability
readiness to show annoyance or impatience
a certain coworker's habitual perversity makes him unpleasant to be around
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Recent Examples of perversity
For me, there’s always the perversity of getting on a trendy bandwagon and just liking it for the irony.
—
Marc Malkin, Variety, 14 Oct. 2025
Here, Henkel leans into the inherent perversity that lingered in the sequels but has rarely been effectively employed since Hooper’s original.
—Declan Gallagher, Entertainment Weekly, 21 Sep. 2025
The perversity of government stakes in private companies is made even clearer by other Washington antics.
—Clyde Wayne Crews Jr, Forbes.com, 25 Aug. 2025
Actions matter, not words that, in their perversity, made matters worse.
—Hussein Agha, New Yorker, 22 Aug. 2025
Marc Malkin, Variety, 14 Oct. 2025
Here, Henkel leans into the inherent perversity that lingered in the sequels but has rarely been effectively employed since Hooper’s original.
—Declan Gallagher, Entertainment Weekly, 21 Sep. 2025
The perversity of government stakes in private companies is made even clearer by other Washington antics.
—Clyde Wayne Crews Jr, Forbes.com, 25 Aug. 2025
Actions matter, not words that, in their perversity, made matters worse.
—Hussein Agha, New Yorker, 22 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for perversity
Noun
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While largely benign, motion sickness can be highly unpleasant — often causing nausea, vomiting, and dizziness, as well as sweating, headache, and irritability in some cases.—
Emily Kay Votruba,
EverydayHealth.com,
8 Jan. 2026
-
Flu can impact children differently and present more general symptoms like irritability and general fussiness, or ear and stomach pain.—
Irene Wright,
USA Today,
2 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
The flame-wielder is a tough match for Mecha Man, necessitating some extrajudicial aggression as Robert lops off two of his opponent’s fingers with a beam saber.—
Christopher Cruz,
Rolling Stone,
7 Nov. 2025
-
What's more, the researchers were surprised to find no evidence of the spiders' usual cannibalistic aggression.—
New Atlas,
New Atlas,
5 Nov. 2025
Noun
-
Davion Mitchell’s defense and aggressiveness?—
Ira Winderman,
Sun Sentinel,
7 Jan. 2026
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That aggressiveness defined December.—
C.J. Holmes,
New York Daily News,
6 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Perversity.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/perversity. Accessed 11 Jan. 2026.
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