I. cor ‧ rupt 1 /kəˈrʌpt/ BrE AmE adjective
[ Date: 1300-1400 ; Language: Latin ; Origin: corruptus , past participle of corrumpere , from com- ( ⇨ COM- ) + rumpere 'to break' ]
1 . using your power in a dishonest or illegal way in order to get an advantage for yourself OPP incorruptible :
Corrupt judges have taken millions of dollars in bribes.
2 . immoral or dishonest:
a corrupt society
officials engaged in corrupt practices
3 . something that is corrupt is not pure or has been damaged or partly ruined:
corrupt data
—corruptly adverb
—corruptness noun [uncountable]
• • •
THESAURUS
▪ dishonest behaving in a way that is intended to deceive people, for example by lying, cheating, or stealing:
Are you accusing me of being dishonest?
|
The money was acquired through dishonest means.
|
People are no longer surprised to find that politicians are dishonest.
▪ corrupt using your power in a dishonest way for your own advantage – used about people in official positions:
corrupt politicians
|
Law and order has broken down, and most government officials are corrupt.
▪ devious /ˈdiːviəs/ good at secretly thinking of clever plans to trick people in order to get what you want:
You have a very devious mind!
|
They use all kinds of devious methods to find out your personal details.
▪ underhand British English , underhanded American English underhand methods involve secretly deceiving people in order to get what you want:
In a series of underhand moves, Browne managed to gain control of the company.
▪ sneaky doing or saying things secretly, in a way that seems wrong because it is slightly dishonest or unfair:
It was pretty sneaky when the bank charged me interest on my account without telling me.
▪ sly deliberately behaving in a way that hides what you are really thinking or doing, in a way that is slightly dishonest:
Lucy decided not to tell him where she was going. She was often a bit sly like that.
|
He’s a sly old fox.
▪ unscrupulous /ʌnˈskruːpjələs, ʌnˈskruːpjʊləs/ using dishonest and unfair methods to get what you want, without caring if you harm other people:
Some unscrupulous companies try to persuade people to borrow huge sums of money.
▪ fraudulent /ˈfrɔːdjələnt, ˈfrɔːdjʊlənt $ ˈfrɒːdʒə-/ formal deliberately deceiving people in an illegal way in order to gain money or power:
You will be prosecuted if you make a fraudulent claim on your insurance policy.
II. corrupt 2 BrE AmE verb [transitive]
1 . to encourage someone to start behaving in an immoral or dishonest way:
Young prisoners are being corrupted by the older, long-term offenders.
2 . to change the traditional form of something, such as a language, so that it becomes worse than it was:
The culture has been corrupted by Western influences.
3 . to change the information in a computer, so that the computer does not work properly any more:
a virus which corrupts the data on your hard drive
—corruptible adjective
—corruptibility /kəˌrʌptəˈbɪləti, kəˌrʌptɪˈbɪləti/ noun [uncountable]