to make someone or something become dishonest or immoral
The study claimed that violence on television corrupts the minds of children.
Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
II. corrupt2 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
Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary
verb
1. transitive ~ sb to have a bad effect on sb and make them behave in an immoral or dishonest way
• He was corrupted by power and ambition.
• the corrupting effects of great wealth
2. transitive, often passive ~ sth to change the original form of sth, so that it is damaged or spoiled in some way
• a corrupted form of Buddhism
3. transitive, intransitive ~ (sth) (computing) to cause mistakes to appear in a computer file, etc. with the result that the information in it is no longer correct
• The program has somehow corrupted the system files.
• corrupted data
• The disk will corrupt if it is overloaded.
Verb forms:
Word Origin:
Middle English: from Latin corruptus, past participle of corrumpere ‘mar, bribe, destroy’, from cor- ‘altogether’ + rumpere ‘to break’.
Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary
corrupt / kəˈrʌpt / verb [ T ] (MAKE BAD)
C1 to make someone or something become dishonest or immoral:
The study claimed that violence on television corrupts the minds of children.
Collins Advanced Learner’s English Dictionary
corrupt
[kərʌ̱pt]
corrupts, corrupting, corrupted
1) ADJ-GRADED Someone who is corrupt behaves in a way that is morally wrong, especially by doing dishonest or illegal things in return for money or power.
...to save the nation from corrupt politicians of both parties.
...corrupt police officers...
He had accused three opposition members of corrupt practices.
Ant:
fair, honest, just
Derived words:
corruptly ADV-GRADED ADV with v ...several government officials charged with acting corruptly.
2) VERB: usu passive If someone is corrupted by something, it causes them to become dishonest and unjust and unable to be trusted.
[be V-ed] It is sad to see a man so corrupted by the desire for money and power.
3) VERB To corrupt someone means to cause them to stop caring about moral standards.
[V n] ...warning that television will corrupt us all...
Cruelty depraves and corrupts.
4) VERB: usu passive If something is corrupted, it becomes damaged or spoiled in some way.
[be V-ed] Some of the finer type-faces are corrupted by cheap, popular computer printers...
[be V-ed] They can ensure that traditional cuisines are not totally corrupted by commercial practices.
[V-ed] ...corrupted data.
Merriam-Webster's Advanced Learner's Dictionary
1cor·rupt /kəˈrʌpt/ verb -rupts; -rupt·ed; -rupt·ing
1 : to cause (someone or something) to become dishonest, immoral, etc.
[+ obj]
• He believes that violence on television and film is corrupting our children. [=teaching bad beliefs and behaviors to our children]
• a politician corrupted by greed
• music that corrupts the morals of children
• corrupting the country's legal system
[no obj]
• the corrupting influence/effects of power
2 [+ obj] : to change (something) so that it is less pure or valuable
• He's convinced that the Internet is corrupting [=ruining] the English language.
• Their idealism has been corrupted by cynicism.
3 [+ obj] : to change (a book, computer file, etc.) from the correct or original form
• The file has been corrupted and no longer works properly.
• corrupted databases/files
• a corrupted version of the ancient text
- cor·rupt·er noun, pl -ers [count]
• a corrupter of our nation's youth
- cor·rupt·ibil·i·ty /kəˌrʌptəˈbɪləti/ noun [noncount]
- cor·rupt·ible /kəˈrʌptəbəl/ adj [more ~; most ~]
• young people who are easily corruptible