pervert 1 of 2

pervert

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verb

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as in to abuse
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

Synonym Chooser

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

Some common synonyms of pervert are corrupt, debase, debauch, deprave, and vitiate. While all these words mean "to cause deterioration or lowering in quality or character," pervert implies a twisting or distorting from what is natural or normal.

perverted the original goals of the institute

Where would corrupt be a reasonable alternative to pervert?

While the synonyms corrupt and pervert are close in meaning, corrupt implies loss of soundness, purity, or integrity.

the belief that bureaucratese corrupts the language

When might debase be a better fit than pervert?

The words debase and pervert can be used in similar contexts, but debase implies a loss of position, worth, value, or dignity.

commercialism has debased the holiday

When is debauch a more appropriate choice than pervert?

The meanings of debauch and pervert largely overlap; however, debauch implies a debasing through sensual indulgence.

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

When would deprave be a good substitute for pervert?

While in some cases nearly identical to pervert, deprave implies moral deterioration by evil thoughts or influences.

the claim that society is depraved by pornography

In what contexts can vitiate take the place of pervert?

The words vitiate and pervert are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, 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 pervert
Noun
Another of the girls called Essex a pervert, which prompted their mother to ask more questions. Keri Blakinger, Los Angeles Times, 19 Dec. 2024 The imagery is intended to mock and reflect modern Japan in some way — from the overworked salarymen gleefully staging suicidal leaps off of buildings to the schoolgirls (who, in the dream, have cell phones for heads) exposing themselves to perverts (who also have cell phones for heads). Eric Vilas-Boas, Vulture, 28 Sep. 2024
Verb
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 In the 1980s the game was engulfed in the Satanic panic, attracting accusations of perverting youth with witchcraft. Eric Francisco, Rolling Stone, 1 Mar. 2025 See All Example Sentences for pervert
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pervert
Noun
  • Those who hold advanced degrees in mathematics and analytics, or your favorite degenerate gambler, know any piece of datum is only reliant on the trove of data that occurred previously.
    Bill Speros, Boston Herald, 7 May 2025
  • This 24-hour dive near Uptown is for true degenerates looking to extend the party to unholy hours.
    David Hudnall, Kansas City Star, 28 Jan. 2025
Verb
  • The cell phone camera has become both the tool humans use to perform and the reason that performance distorts even further in the eyes of others.
    CT Jones, Rolling Stone, 21 May 2025
  • Unfortunately, this racial lens merely distorts the rivalry narrative, transforming what should be celebrated as an engaging competitive dynamic into something unnecessarily contentious.
    Lindsey Darvin, Forbes.com, 20 May 2025
Verb
  • Absolute power may corrupt absolutely, but absolute wealth can separate the wealthy from reality.
    Kelly Lawler, USA Today, 23 May 2025
  • We were told that he was just morally corrupted by the White House, by Democrats in Congress.
    ABC News, ABC News, 18 May 2025
Verb
  • The bill was named after Trey Carlock, a Dallas native who died by suicide in 2019 at the age of 28 after being abused by a Missouri summer camp director.
    Eleanor Dearman, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 27 May 2025
  • Two tribal nations filed a lawsuit saying that the federal government used the trust fund money of tribes to pay for boarding schools where generations of Native children were systematically abused.
    Graham Lee Brewer, Los Angeles Times, 24 May 2025
Noun
  • Perhaps this is why it was never required viewing in my household; there was no darker notion than our hero potentially being a villain.
    Tyler Foggatt, New Yorker, 24 May 2025
  • But the new villain is smarter than the IMF assumed, and the mission has disastrous results.
    Keith Langston, People.com, 24 May 2025
Verb
  • In other cases, studies in the report were misrepresented, according to the researchers who conducted them.
    Brenda Goodman, CNN Money, 29 May 2025
  • Its job is to present your skills and experience—your career story—in the best possible light without misrepresenting your qualifications.
    Suzanne Blake, MSNBC Newsweek, 23 May 2025
Verb
  • Television ‘The Last of Us’ director on Ellie and Dina’s relationship: ‘This is not just a crush’ May 4, 2025 The stakes in Season 1 were very clear — get Ellie to where she can be used to make a cure — even if they were subverted in the end.
    Mary McNamara, Los Angeles Times, 26 May 2025
  • The chancellor’s attempt to seek your commission’s forgiveness years after deliberately avoiding your timely permission reads now like a cagey campaign to dodge his duties as steward of our knoll and subvert the relevant rule of law.
    Letters To The Editor, San Diego Union-Tribune, 26 May 2025
Verb
  • While that case remains ongoing, the U.S. Court of International Trade found that Trump misused the same presidential authority in a ruling this week on separate tariff cases.
    Chad de Guzman, Time, 30 May 2025
  • But a number of people misused those funds, both around the Charlotte region and nationally.
    Chase Jordan, Charlotte Observer, 22 May 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Pervert.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pervert. Accessed 4 Jun. 2025.

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