deprave

verb

di-ˈprāv How to pronounce deprave (audio)
Definition of depravenext
as in to corrupt
to lower in character, dignity, or quality the belief that pornography depraves society as a whole

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Synonym Chooser

How is the word deprave different from other verbs like it?

Some common synonyms of deprave are corrupt, debase, debauch, pervert, and vitiate. While all these words mean "to cause deterioration or lowering in quality or character," deprave implies moral deterioration by evil thoughts or influences.

the claim that society is depraved by pornography

Where would corrupt be a reasonable alternative to deprave?

The meanings of corrupt and deprave largely overlap; however, corrupt implies loss of soundness, purity, or integrity.

the belief that bureaucratese corrupts the language

When can debase be used instead of deprave?

While the synonyms debase and deprave are close in meaning, debase implies a loss of position, worth, value, or dignity.

commercialism has debased the holiday

In what contexts can debauch take the place of deprave?

Although the words debauch and deprave have much in common, debauch implies a debasing through sensual indulgence.

the long stay on a tropical isle had debauched the ship's crew

When might pervert be a better fit than deprave?

In some situations, the words pervert and deprave are roughly equivalent. However, pervert implies a twisting or distorting from what is natural or normal.

perverted the original goals of the institute

When is vitiate a more appropriate choice than deprave?

While in some cases nearly identical to deprave, vitiate implies a destruction of purity, validity, or effectiveness by allowing entrance of a fault or defect.

a foreign policy vitiated by partisanship

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 deprave The company goes on to say the infringing product depraves Levi’s its rights to use and control its trademark and maintain its reputation with consumers, licensees and collaborators and allows others to believe the distinctive features of the Tab trademark may be misappropriated for their use. —Angela Velasquez, Sourcing Journal, 3 Jan. 2025 All writings, unpalatable for one section of the society, cannot be labeled as obscene, vulgar, depraving, prurient and immoral. . . . —Amitava Kumar, The New Yorker, 12 Dec. 2019 This is especially true when the news operation is clearly on the side of righteousness against a policy as depraved this. —David Zurawik, baltimoresun.com, 15 June 2018 This series follows the trails of their obsession, and takes a deep dive into the killers’ depraved psyches to reveal their darkest secrets as investigators close in to end the killer’s reign of terror. —Michael O'Connell, The Hollywood Reporter, 9 Apr. 2018 McDonagh complicates Mildred's story by showing how the lust for justice can grow depraved the longer it is denied — a favorite subject of dramatists going back to Aeschylus. —Charles McNulty, latimes.com, 1 Mar. 2018 Glorifying any murderer is sickening. Mocking is depraved. —Ed O’Loughlin, New York Times, 7 Jan. 2018 As depraved a forum as Twitter can be at times, one of its redeeming characteristics is its users' penchant for outing liars in real time. —Matthew Martinez, star-telegram, 18 Feb. 2018 The collusion of Breitbart and Fox News, of the governor of Kentucky and of all three Republican Senate candidates in Alabama, is depraved. —Yascha Mounk, Slate Magazine, 17 Aug. 2017
Recent Examples of Synonyms for deprave
  1. corrupt
  2. degrade
  3. weaken
  4. debauch
  5. pervert
  6. subvert
  7. humiliate
  8. poison
Verb
  • Banks couldn’t simply restore from backups because those records had also been corrupted.
    — Jim Dobson, Forbes.com, 4 Apr. 2025
  • Examples include divulging end users’ confidential contacts or emails and delivering falsified answers that have the potential to corrupt the integrity of important calculations.
    — ArsTechnica, ArsTechnica, 28 Mar. 2025
Definition of corrupt
Verb
  • Thimerosal degrades into ethylmercury, which was judged not to be a danger at the level that would come from a vaccine.
    — Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 1 Apr. 2025
  • The quality degrades a bit after the sun goes down.
    — PC Magazine, PC Magazine, 29 Mar. 2025
Definition of degrade
Verb
  • But that progress stalled out around the turn of the year, which weakened the case for further rate cuts and ultimately prompted the Fed to stand pat in January.
    — Bryan Mena, CNN Money, 4 Apr. 2025
  • More broadly, consumer sentiment has declined and retail sales growth has weakened, reflecting the uncertainty of customers over where the economy is headed.
    — Harry Holzer, Forbes.com, 4 Apr. 2025
Definition of weaken
Verb
  • But as commercialization took hold, the event metastasized into a pit of hard drugs, drunkenness, and debauch a world apart from its bohemian origins.
    — Charlie Campbell, TIME, 17 Mar. 2025
  • In season two, when Mike White’s series decamped to Sicily, the credits riffed on Italian frescoes that got increasingly debauched — with a beat drop from opera to EDM.
    — Jackson McHenry, Vulture, 16 Feb. 2025
Definition of debauch
Verb
  • The only conspiracy is what Bove and Bondi are engaged in, perverting a prosecution for their political gain.
    — New York Daily News Editorial Board, New York Daily News, 26 Mar. 2025
  • Yet perverting that good news story into some tawdry political gain cheapens SpaceX, NASA, and Wilmore and Williams.
    — Eric Berger, Ars Technica, 18 Mar. 2025
Definition of pervert
Verb
  • Project 2025 is explicitly derived from the processes used by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán to subvert his country’s democracy and by Russian leader Vladimir Putin to subvert the inchoate democratic movement after the fall of the Soviet Union.
    — DP Opinion, Denver Post, 4 Apr. 2025
  • With a limited color palette and very spare design, the show subverts the commonplace elements of an office and invents a haunting visual language all its own that creeps you out while drawing you in.
    — Charlotte Collins, Architectural Digest, 20 Mar. 2025
Definition of subvert
Verb
  • Trump World even humiliated Abe by letting it be known that Abe had nominated the U.S. leader for a Nobel Peace Prize.
    — William Pesek, Forbes.com, 29 Mar. 2025
  • The temptation for Russia to humiliate London and Paris - by breaking any ceasefire with an attack carried out hundreds of miles away from British and French troops stuck in the capital - could prove hard to resist.
    — Andrew Carey, CNN Money, 28 Mar. 2025
Definition of humiliate
Verb
  • Until Henry momentarily excuses himself from the table, that is, and the person or persons behind these winky-wink messages tell her to poison Henry ASAP or the menacing guy currently hiding in her apartment will kill her boy.
    — David Fear, Rolling Stone, 10 Apr. 2025
  • Calls to poison control centers for pediatric melatonin ingestion increased 530 percent between 2012 and 2021, according to one analysis published by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
    — ArsTechnica, ArsTechnica, 8 Apr. 2025
Definition of poison

Browse Nearby Words

depots
deprave
depraved
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Cite this Entry

“Deprave.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/deprave. Accessed 16 Apr. 2025.

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