Meaning & use

corruption

noun·Academic

Dishonest or illegal behavior, especially by people in power, typically involving bribery or abuse of authority.

See it in a sentence

Journalists uncovered widespread corruption among officials awarding government construction contracts.

The new mayor promised to root out corruption within the police department.

A note on using this word

Corruption can also describe the deterioration of data or text, as in file corruption, beyond its more common meaning of dishonesty.

Words with a similar meaning

briberydishonesty

Choose a synonym to suit the sentence. Meanings can overlap without being identical.

Words with an opposite meaning

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