as in corrupt
having or showing lowered moral character or standards
the perverted values of a society that had taken permissiveness to the extreme
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in distorted
to change so much as to create a wrong impression or alter the meaning of
that summary really perverts the other candidate's views on taxes
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in corrupted
to lower in character, dignity, or quality
a movie that perverted the Bible story by reveling in the sinners' lewd behavior until just before the moment of divine retribution
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in abused
to put to a bad or improper use
accused of perverting the Internal Revenue Service by using it to harass political opponents
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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.
Recent Examples of perverted
Erik Kain, Forbes.com, 2 June 2025
These were the years in which capitalism shed its pitiless light on the absurd British soul, with its deep striations of caste and station, its postcolonial taint, most of all its perverted emotional core, full of love and loathing for its own extremes of domination and servitude.
—Rachel Cusk, Harper's Magazine, 19 Feb. 2025
Literary Hub, 17 Dec. 2025
Even more poignant, however, is the Rosemary's Baby angle, where the innocence of childhood is drowned in blood and the notion that a young person reared in a loving environment should develop into a compassionate adult is perverted into unthinkable horror.
—Alan Bradley, Space.com, 8 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for perverted
Adjective
Jeff is a bit of a voyeur or peeping Tom, though not in a perverted way.
—Erik Kain, Forbes.com, 2 June 2025
These were the years in which capitalism shed its pitiless light on the absurd British soul, with its deep striations of caste and station, its postcolonial taint, most of all its perverted emotional core, full of love and loathing for its own extremes of domination and servitude.
—Rachel Cusk, Harper's Magazine, 19 Feb. 2025
Verb
Murry corrupted and perverted and destroyed Katherine both as a person and a writer […] Her gifts were those of an intense realist, with a superb sense of ironic humour and fundamental cynicism.
—Literary Hub, 17 Dec. 2025
Even more poignant, however, is the Rosemary's Baby angle, where the innocence of childhood is drowned in blood and the notion that a young person reared in a loving environment should develop into a compassionate adult is perverted into unthinkable horror.
—Alan Bradley, Space.com, 8 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for perverted
Recent Examples of Synonyms for perverted
Adjective
-
Smuggling — sometimes by rope, sometimes with the help of corrupt jail guards — has long been a problem at the troubled federal jail, which has been plagued by violence, horrific conditions and severe staffing shortages for years.—
John Annese,
New York Daily News,
29 Mar. 2026
-
No corrupt leader enriching himself and the Epstein class buddies.—
Diego Parrado,
Vanity Fair,
29 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Not access distorted by opaque algorithms and market forces that concentrate the power in the hands of the few.—
Marta Balaga,
Variety,
26 Mar. 2026
-
Lebohang Morake, the Grammy‑winning South African composer known professionally as Lebo M, is suing a comedian for $27 million, alleging a viral joke about the opening chant of The Lion King distorted the meaning of the song and damaged his life’s work.—
Michelle Del Rey,
USA Today,
26 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Goodwill is corrupted on arrival by the modern virtue of avarice.—
Andy Andersen,
Vulture,
23 Mar. 2026
-
Helberg, cast as inventor Martin Phister, opens up about their characters who are trying to be virtuous and end up getting corrupted instead.—
Marta Balaga,
Variety,
21 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Other kids in the household also had been physically abused, including a 10-year-old girl who withstood routine beatings with a belt over a 22-month period, Lake County authorities discovered.—
Charles Selle,
Chicago Tribune,
25 Mar. 2026
-
Fares, now 33, was allegedly abused by Rutledge from 2007 to 2010 and Simon, now 37, was allegedly abused from 2001 to 2005.—
Corky Siemaszko,
NBC news,
25 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
From there, your IT department can break down and analyze the data in any way that’s useful—tracking degradation along laptop generations, targeting particularly degraded units, identifying applications with heavy battery drain, and more.—
John Burek,
PC Magazine,
25 Mar. 2026
-
When a degraded grassland returns to health, the ground heaves up, as if inhaling with relief.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
25 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Following the revelation that Immigration and Customs Enforcement misrepresented its authority to arrest people in immigration court, Congressman Dan Goldman Friday demanded ICE and the Department of Homeland Security provide a full accounting of everyone swept up by the aggressive practice.—
Molly Crane-Newman,
New York Daily News,
27 Mar. 2026
-
Attorney Abbe Lowell, representing the Fulton County officials, pushed back on the assertion that the omissions to the warrant application were minimal, arguing the FBI misrepresented key information.—
Peter Charalambous,
ABC News,
27 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Murdering a teenaged iconic athlete shows how deeply depraved the Iranian leadership is.—
Jackson Thompson,
FOXNews.com,
19 Mar. 2026
-
Trump's No Kings video was truly depraved.—
Bill Goodykoontz,
AZCentral.com,
20 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
Denver’s previous vendor, Flock Safety, misused data, and that contract was terminated.—
Michael Hancock,
Denver Post,
30 Mar. 2026
-
The Ethics Committee panel cited a years-long inquiry into whether Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick misused covid pandemic money.—
Kadia Goba,
Washington Post,
27 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Perverted.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/perverted. Accessed 1 Apr. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
