corrupting

verb

present participle of corrupt
1
as in decomposing
to go through decomposition a dead mouse corrupting in the walls produced a terrible smell

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2
as in degrading
to lower in character, dignity, or quality some observers believe that grossly violent movies corrupt the people who watch them as well as the people who make them

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in bribing
to influence someone with a bribe he bragged about having corrupted half of the officials on the city council

Synonyms & Similar Words

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 corrupting Documentarian Alex Gibney is no stranger to dissections of corrupting power — from his feature dives into Enron, Elizabeth Holmes and Scientology. — Robert Abele, Los Angeles Times, 9 Oct. 2026 Delphi sits above a geologic vent, an X from which noxious gases escaped the earth, corrupting the minds of women who inhaled and pronounced their prophecies. — Literary Hub, 6 Oct. 2026 And by engaging with these powerful militaries, the group reinforced its self-image as a major regional player that was uniquely capable of liberating the Muslim world from corrupting American and Israeli influence. — April Longley Alley, Foreign Affairs, 11 Sep. 2026 Gadgets with screens of any size have long been allegedly melting, rotting, and/or corrupting the brains of youths for decades. — Beth Mole, ArsTechnica, 10 Sep. 2026 Instead, in trying to explain what made both Murdoch and Lamb tick in those early days, Boyle and Graham show us just how intoxicating and corrupting this kind of success can be. — Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 2 Sep. 2026 The Apology is Plato’s version of the speech of self-defense Socrates gives when he is tried by the city of Athens for corrupting the youth and not believing in the gods. — Agnes Callard, The New York Review of Books, 18 Aug. 2026 Validation rules, schema standards and completeness checks at the entry point prevent bad master data from corrupting everything downstream. — Jacqueline Destefano-Tangorra, Forbes.com, 4 Aug. 2026 Character also involves standing up to people who are bankrupting and corrupting this country. — CBS News, 31 May 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for corrupting
  1. decomposing
  2. degrading
  3. bribing
  4. disintegrating
  5. subverting
  6. seducing
  7. decaying
  8. weakening
Verb
  • More than two months after authorities found dozens of decomposing bodies inside the South Chicago Chapel on the Far South Side, the Cook County Medical Examiner's office has identified all 55 people whose bodies were found inside the funeral home.
    — Todd Feurer, CBS News, 14 Oct. 2026
  • Over 50 decomposing bodies were discovered earlier in the month at the funeral home and cemetery.
    — Gregory Royal Pratt, Chicago Tribune, 14 Oct. 2026
Definition of decomposing
Verb
  • Experts told the Herald that the use of such cages as punishment could violate international laws against torture and degrading treatment.
    — Claire Healy, Miami Herald, 8 Oct. 2026
  • Local farms face ever degrading soil conditions, tougher markets and more extreme weather patterns.
    — Charlotte Observer, Charlotte Observer, 6 Oct. 2026
Definition of degrading
Verb
  • Joseph Livreri and his brother Anthony Livreri pleaded guilty to conspiracy and bribery after being charged with bribing a former New York City buildings commissioner who was part of Eric Adams' Democratic administration.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 12 Sep. 2026
  • Lucienne, a mountain girl charmed by Ortiz, eased their passage by bribing the right gendarme.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 31 Aug. 2026
Definition of bribing
Verb
  • Scott’s face, in this shot, is a whole novel, disintegrating into tears before being shored up again, eventually rearranged into something resembling a welcoming smile that teeters on the edge of collapse.
    — Alison Willmore, Vulture, 15 Sep. 2026
  • The 110-floor south tower, struck shortly after the north tower by another plane, was disintegrating.
    — Diane Herbst, PEOPLE, 7 Sep. 2026
Definition of disintegrating
Verb
  • Several works confront the digital systems shaping contemporary life, subverting algorithms and finding room for human error and agency.
    — Matthew Carey, Deadline, 13 Oct. 2026
  • According to tax authorities, by inappropriately avoiding gains, investors are subverting the intention of the rules.
    — Cheryl Winokur Munk, CNBC, 2 Oct. 2026
Definition of subverting
Verb
  • Adva Lavie, an OnlyFans model, already is facing criminal charges in Los Angeles County for allegedly seducing and stealing from rich men.
    — Richard Winton, Los Angeles Times, 17 Sep. 2026
  • Still, with more than 40,000 industry jobs lost in the past few years, soundstages and vendor storefronts sitting empty, and lucrative overseas incentives seducing even more production away, things are bleak in town right now.
    — Dominic Patten, Deadline, 6 Aug. 2026
Definition of seducing
Verb
  • The family could have cleared out a decaying bungalow and built something simpler in its place.
    — Nuriyah Johar, Architectural Digest, 16 Oct. 2026
  • These decaying satellites follow a similar incident in June, where one of the first batch of Rassvet-3 satellites fell back to Earth.
    — Jon Martindale, PC Magazine, 13 Oct. 2026
Definition of decaying
Verb
  • Mortgage demand continues to drop sharply, as buyers face higher prices and weakening affordability.
    — Diana Olick, CNBC, 14 Oct. 2026
  • The upper-level trough over the western United States will gradually advance eastward, weakening the influence of the ridge that has kept us hot and relatively dry.
    — Michael Autovino, CBS News, 13 Oct. 2026
Definition of weakening

Browse Nearby Words

corruptible
corrupting
corruption
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Cite this Entry

“Corrupting.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/corrupting. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

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