subverted

verb

past tense of subvert
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

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

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 subverted Laws and elections can quickly shift the balance of power in the game, and the rules can be subverted or twisted to your advantage through the deft deployment of crushing bureaucracy. — Alan Bradley, Space.com, 14 Aug. 2026 That's because when the stakes are high, and the actors begin to cry, the serious tone begs to be subverted by a humorous caption. — Owen Carry, USA Today, 11 Aug. 2026 What could be a stock campus ice-queen role is subverted throughout the season, through the empathy for the character that courses through her performance. — Rebecca Alter, Vulture, 27 July 2026 Ireland sought to slow down the match but New Zealand subverted that tactic, forcing turnovers and kicking only sparingly. — ABC News, 18 July 2026 The Sedition Act of 1918, which subverted the Bill of Rights, imposed penalties for anti-government expression. — Steve H. Hanke, Fortune, 1 July 2026 Karen McCullah Lutz and Kirsten Smith’s screenplay is littered with exaggerated stereotypes just waiting to be boisterously subverted. — Ben Travers, IndieWire, 29 June 2026 One day after Zendaya subverted her usual high-fashion fare by wearing a $35 T-shirt from eBay, the 29-year-old actress dipped into a different type of archive on June 25. — Juliana Ukiomogbe, InStyle, 25 June 2026 But Raman — whose husband is veteran 30 Rock writer and producer Vali Chandrasekaran — has quietly subverted her showy target in a way befitting that series. — Steven Zeitchik, HollywoodReporter, 6 June 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for subverted
  1. corrupted
  2. degraded
  3. weakened
  4. perverted
  5. deteriorated
  6. humiliated
  7. poisoned
  8. destroyed
Verb
  • Scott the aesthete, the creator of indelible images and ethereal moods who was unafraid to linger in beauty, even when that beauty was corrupted.
    — Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 27 Aug. 2026
  • As a result, the notion of utopia became increasingly associated with the sci-fi genre, while the idea of creating a perfect social order here on earth was corrupted by totalitarian regimes.
    — Carline Tromp, The Dial, 18 Aug. 2026
Definition of corrupted
Verb
  • The invasion has raised European willingness to spend more on defense, and the fighting has badly degraded Russia’s armed forces.
    — JENNIFER KAVANAGH, Foreign Affairs, 28 Aug. 2026
  • Russia’s subsequent full-scale invasion has largely degraded into a battlefield stalemate, with Moscow’s and Kyiv’s forces vying for the upper hand, though the two sides have recently intensified their aerial attacks on one another.
    — Prashant Rao, semafor.com, 27 Aug. 2026
Definition of degraded
Verb
  • Today, the yen has weakened 57% from a low of about 103 in January 2021 to a high of 163 in July, before a rare joint intervention from both Washington and Tokyo strengthened the currency to its current levels of about 160.
    — Lim Hui Jie, CNBC, 1 Sep. 2026
  • Sprout Social's 2026 Influencer Marketing Report found that recommendation feeds have weakened the link between follower count and reach.
    — Zoe Huang, Forbes.com, 1 Sep. 2026
Definition of weakened
Verb
  • More important to Bernstein is what that lust reveals about her characters’ deepest needs, specifically how their need to care and be cared for can be as easily perverted as any other form of desire.
    — David Ehrlich, IndieWire, 9 July 2026
  • Georgia Bernstein’s unsettling directorial debut focuses on how warped and perverted those desires become when they’re taken to their insatiable extremes.
    — Randy Myers, Mercury News, 8 July 2026
Definition of perverted
Verb
  • But several of them moving in the same direction tell me that the quality of the rally has deteriorated.
    — Thomas Hartmann, Forbes.com, 2 Sep. 2026
  • As the stalemate between the city and Angels owner Arte Moreno grew more entrenched, the condition of Angel Stadium deteriorated.
    — Bill Shaikin, Los Angeles Times, 1 Sep. 2026
Definition of deteriorated
Verb
  • My husband was humiliated, he was degraded, and not able to defend himself.
    — Robert McCoppin, Chicago Tribune, 1 Sep. 2026
  • Their time in Fiji was marked by endless drama, with Sincere often lying and leaving Melanie feeling humiliated on several occasions.
    — Allison DeGrushe, StyleCaster, 1 Sep. 2026
Definition of humiliated
Verb
  • Over the course of Exile, one of Loktev’s subjects is poisoned; another receives a five-year prison sentence in absentia.
    — Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 4 Sep. 2026
  • Veterinarians determined that the snake's venom poisoned Samba, prompting them to give her antivenin.
    — Anthony Thompson, USA Today, 28 Aug. 2026
Definition of poisoned
Verb
  • The fire started in the 2300 block of Pickett Road and destroyed five structures, according to Cal Fire.
    — Iris Kwok, Los Angeles Times, 29 Aug. 2026
  • Almost 50 homes and other structures have been destroyed so far; there have been several injuries, and one of Tibbetts’s neighbors lost 20 German shepherds.
    — Anya Kamenetz, Curbed, 28 Aug. 2026
Definition of destroyed

Browse Nearby Words

subvert
subverted
subverter
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Subverted.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/subverted. Accessed 4 Sep. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of apiary

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

A List of Most Commonly Confused Words

Why do we use apostrophes to show possession?

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

Stay Woke

Ye Olde Nincompoop: Old-Fashioned Words for 'Stupid'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Words of the Week - Sept. 4
See More

Popular

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

The Longest Long Words List

Stay Woke
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
anagrams on a chalk board
Word Builder Quiz Vol. 2 Pick the letter that when added to a word will ma...
See All