2 definitions found
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]:
Corruption \Cor*rup"tion\ (k?r-r?p"sh?n), n. [F. corruption, L.
corruptio.]
1. The act of corrupting or making putrid, or state of being
corrupt or putrid; decomposition or disorganization, in
the process of putrefaction; putrefaction; deterioration.
The inducing and accelerating of putrefaction is a
subject of very universal inquiry; for corruption is
a reciprocal to ``generation''. --Bacon.
2. The product of corruption; putrid matter.
3. The act of corrupting or of impairing integrity, virtue,
or moral principle; the state of being corrupted or
debased; loss of purity or integrity; depravity;
wickedness; impurity; bribery.
It was necessary, by exposing the gross corruptions
of monasteries, . . . to exite popular indignation
against them. --Hallam.
They abstained from some of the worst methods of
corruption usual to their party in its earlier days.
--Bancroft.
Note: Corruption, when applied to officers, trustees, etc.,
signifies the inducing a violation of duty by means of
pecuniary considerations. --Abbott.
4. The act of changing, or of being changed, for the worse;
departure from what is pure, simple, or correct; as, a
corruption of style; corruption in language.
{Corruption of blood} (Law), taint or impurity of blood, in
consequence of an act of attainder of treason or felony,
by which a person is disabled from inheriting any estate
or from transmitting it to others.
Corruption of blood can be removed only by act of
Parliament. --Blackstone.
Syn: Putrescence; putrefaction; defilement; contamination;
deprivation; debasement; adulteration; depravity; taint.
See {Depravity}.
From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:
corruption
n 1: lack of integrity or honesty (especially susceptibility to
bribery); use of a position of trust for dishonest gain
[syn: {corruptness}] [ant: {incorruptness}]
2: in a state of progressive putrefaction [syn: {putrescence},
{putridness}, {rottenness}]
3: decay of matter (as by rot or oxidation)
4: moral perversion; impairment of virtue and moral principles;
"the luxury and corruption among the upper classes";
"moral degeneracy followed intellectual degeneration";
"its brothels; its opium parlors; its depravity" [syn: {degeneracy},
{depravity}]
5: destroying someone's (or some group's) honesty or loyalty;
undermining moral integrity; "corruption of a minor"; "the
big city's subversion of rural innocence" [syn: {subversion}]
6: inducement (as of a public official) by improper means (as
bribery) to violate duty (as by commiting a felony); "he
was held on charges of corruption and racketeering"