as in corrupted
to lower in character, dignity, or quality
by insisting that she pay me for helping her, she subverted my noble desire to do a good deed without reward
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Recent Examples of subverted
Kardashian subverted expectations at the 2021 Met Gala by arriving in a face-covering body stocking by Balenciaga.
—
Catherine Santino, PEOPLE, 2 May 2026
There are parts of his past that he’s really subverted, some quite painful but undeniable on his part.
—John Hopewell, Variety, 27 Apr. 2026
Whenever his work started to become familiar to his viewers, Chan subverted expectations and made something new.
—Dawn Chan, The New York Review of Books, 25 Apr. 2026
The series offered a look at Mormon moms in Utah that subverted viewers’ expectations.
—Emily St. Martin, Los Angeles Times, 6 Apr. 2026
Republicans and Democrats, left and right—both are being subverted by anti-Semitism within.
—David Frum, The Atlantic, 13 Mar. 2026
The other reminds us how easily that reliability can be subverted in fiction.
—Alan Bradley, Space.com, 2 Mar. 2026
The institutions that are supposed to solve collective action problems have been hijacked or subverted.
—Sarah Jeong, The Verge, 1 Mar. 2026
The court also found Yoon had subverted the constitutional order and abused his authority by ordering troops to storm parliament and arrest certain individuals including Lee Jae Myung, the liberal opposition leader at the time who is now South Korea’s president.
—Stella Kim, NBC news, 19 Feb. 2026
Catherine Santino, PEOPLE, 2 May 2026
There are parts of his past that he’s really subverted, some quite painful but undeniable on his part.
—John Hopewell, Variety, 27 Apr. 2026
Whenever his work started to become familiar to his viewers, Chan subverted expectations and made something new.
—Dawn Chan, The New York Review of Books, 25 Apr. 2026
The series offered a look at Mormon moms in Utah that subverted viewers’ expectations.
—Emily St. Martin, Los Angeles Times, 6 Apr. 2026
Republicans and Democrats, left and right—both are being subverted by anti-Semitism within.
—David Frum, The Atlantic, 13 Mar. 2026
The other reminds us how easily that reliability can be subverted in fiction.
—Alan Bradley, Space.com, 2 Mar. 2026
The institutions that are supposed to solve collective action problems have been hijacked or subverted.
—Sarah Jeong, The Verge, 1 Mar. 2026
The court also found Yoon had subverted the constitutional order and abused his authority by ordering troops to storm parliament and arrest certain individuals including Lee Jae Myung, the liberal opposition leader at the time who is now South Korea’s president.
—Stella Kim, NBC news, 19 Feb. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for subverted
Verb
-
An independent redistricting commission — transparent, balanced and insulated from the very political pressures that have corrupted this process.—
Daryl Campbell,
Sun Sentinel,
6 May 2026
-
In an era when youth sports can sometimes feel corrupted by money, pressure and adult ego, the Lee Corso Legacy Fund serves as a reminder of what sports are supposed to be about in the first place.—
Mike Bianchi,
The Orlando Sentinel,
6 May 2026
Verb
-
His moves to West Ham United and Milan have badly degraded the 33-year-old’s stock.—
Sebastian Stafford-Bloor,
New York Times,
27 Apr. 2026
-
The war has degraded Iran’s nuclear and missile programs.—
Valerie Morkevicius,
The Conversation,
24 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
People who have weakened immune systems and who experienced intense pain during an initial outbreak are also more susceptible to getting shingles a second (or even third) time.—
Petra Guglielmetti,
Glamour,
7 May 2026
-
Meanwhile, the institutional guardrails have been weakened.—
Israel Melendez Ayala,
Time,
6 May 2026
Verb
-
The Constitution has been perverted in ways by administrations on both sides of the aisle to facilitate military action.—
Rebecca Noel,
Charlotte Observer,
6 Feb. 2026
-
Organized sports can easily be perverted.—
Louisa Thomas,
New Yorker,
1 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Even the city emblem right in front of City Hall is deteriorated.—
Steve Lopez,
Los Angeles Times,
9 May 2026
-
Mohammadi, who has been imprisoned in Zanjan Prison in the northwest since her arrest in December, was transferred last Friday to a local hospital after her health sharply deteriorated.—
Connor Greene,
Time,
8 May 2026
Verb
-
This Mets team, with the second-highest MLB payroll at $369 million, had just been humiliated by a franchise that lost 119 games a year ago.—
Joe Kinsey OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
27 Apr. 2026
-
One such accusation resulted in a federal lawsuit filed in September in which the former head of the Colorado Division for the Deaf, Hard of Hearing and DeafBlind alleged DHS management humiliated and discriminated against him before forcing him out of his job.—
Katie Langford,
Denver Post,
24 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Who cares about the fact that her friend cheated when her child was poisoned by her husband and her father?—
Arushi Jacob,
Variety,
22 Apr. 2026
-
Weinstein’s lawyers have argued that his New York conviction last year was poisoned by bad blood among jurors.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
13 Apr. 2026
Verb
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The assault killed at least seventeen people, including a twelve-year-old boy, wounded dozens, and destroyed buildings.—
Sudarsan Raghavan,
New Yorker,
28 Apr. 2026
-
The 24 staff members in Ruiz Verduzco’s office are tasked with assisting victims and their families, establishing programs in communities destroyed by violence and drumming up financial support.—
Molly Quell,
Los Angeles Times,
28 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Subverted.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/subverted. Accessed 12 May. 2026.
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