Definition

Noun: 1. The act of corrupting or making morally worse: The process of causing someone or something to decline from a state of virtue, purity, or moral soundness. 2. The state of being morally corrupted or perverted: A condition of extreme moral degradation, wickedness, or depravity.

Usage

• "Depravation" is a formal noun, often used in moral, philosophical, or social critiques. It describes a profound decline in moral character, either as an active process or the resulting state.
• It is frequently used in contexts discussing societal decay, the corrupting influence of power or luxury, or the loss of ethical principles.

Examples

• The novel explores the depravation of a noble soul by greed and ambition.
• Historians often cite the moral depravation of the ruling class as a factor in the empire's collapse.
• The film does not shy away from depicting the utter depravation found in the city's underworld.

Advanced Usage

• "Moral depravation": A common collocation emphasizing the ethical dimension of the corruption.
  • The scandal revealed a shocking level of moral depravation within the institution.
• Used in a more abstract, personified sense:
  • The city was a sink of depravation.

Variants and Related Words

• Deprave (verb): To corrupt morally.
• Depraved (adjective): Morally corrupt; wicked.
• Depravity (noun): The state of being depraved; moral corruption. Often used interchangeably with "depravation," though "depravity" is more common for describing the state itself.

Synonyms

• Corruption
• Degeneracy
• Debasement
• Perversion
• Wickedness

Antonyms

• Virtue
• Integrity
• Righteousness
• Purity
• Morality

Noun

1. 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
   • Rome had fallen into moral putrefaction