Meaning & use
perverse
Last updated
Meanings
adjectivenot comparabledisapproving
Deliberately choosing what is unreasonable, unhelpful, or contrary to what is expected.
Grammar: Usually before a noun or after be; it suggests willful contrariness, not simple error.
Patterns
- perverse refusal
- perverse decision
- perverse pleasure
His perverse refusal to ask for help made the task harder.
She took perverse pleasure in proving the schedule wrong.
adjectivenot comparable
Producing a result that is the opposite of the one intended or wanted.
Grammar: Common in phrases like perverse outcome or perverse effect.
Patterns
- perverse outcome
- perverse effect
- perverse result
The tax created a perverse incentive to waste energy.
A perverse effect of the rule was longer queues.
Word forms
| comparative | more perverse |
|---|---|
| superlative | most perverse |
Common combinations
- perverse pleasure
- He seemed to take perverse pleasure in delaying the vote.
- perverse logic
- Only perverse logic could call the failure a success.
- perverse outcome
- The reward system had a perverse outcome: fewer volunteers.
- perverse incentive
- The fine created a perverse incentive to hide mistakes.
Synonyms and how they differ
- contrary
- Means inclined to disagree or oppose; perverse is stronger and more deliberately unreasonable.
- stubborn
- Refuses to change, but not necessarily for a wrong or harmful reason.
- willful
- Emphasizes deliberate disobedience; perverse adds the sense of choosing wrongly.
- perverted
- Much stronger and often sexual or corrupt; do not use it for mere stubbornness.
Opposites
Word family
- perversely adverb
- In a deliberately unreasonable way.
- perversity noun
- The quality of being perverse.
Commonly confused: perverse or perverted? perverse or reverse?
perverse vs perverted
Perverted usually suggests corrupted or sexual deviance and is much stronger than perverse.
perverse vs reverse
Reverse means opposite direction or order; perverse means deliberately contrary or producing an unwanted opposite result.
Practice
Complete the sentence: “The subsidy had a ______ effect: farmers planted fewer trees.”
Choose one answer.
Perverse effect means an unintended result opposite to the goal. Reverse means backward direction, while residential and plush do not fit an outcome.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “perverse”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.