Definition

1. Verb:
   • To make morally bad or evil; to corrupt, pervert, or debase someone's character, morals, or principles.
   • To lead someone into depravity or a state of moral corruption.

Usage

The verb "deprave" is a formal term used to describe the action of causing moral corruption. It typically implies a profound and often intentional negative influence that warps someone's innate sense of right and wrong. It is often used in contexts discussing harmful influences on the young or vulnerable.

Examples

• Verb:
  • The court argued that the violent film had the potential to deprave young viewers.
  • He was accused of using his position of power to deprave the morals of his followers.
  • Critics claim that such explicit material can deprave and corrupt society.

Advanced Usage

• "To deprave someone's mind": To corrupt someone's thoughts or moral judgment.
  • The prosecutor argued that the defendant's actions were calculated to deprave the minds of the jurors.
• Often used in legal contexts, such as the concept of "depraved heart" in some jurisdictions, indicating a wanton disregard for human life.

Variants and Related Words

• Depraved (adj): Morally corrupt, wicked, or perverted.
  • The villain in the story was a truly depraved character.
• Depravity (n): Moral corruption; wickedness.
  • The novel explores the depths of human depravity.
• Depravement (n): (Less common) The act of depraving or the state of being depraved.

Synonyms

• Corrupt: To cause to act dishonestly or immorally.
• Debauch: To lead into excessive indulgence in sensual pleasures.
• Debase: To reduce in quality, value, or character; to degrade.
• Pervert: To distort or corrupt the original meaning or state of something, often in a sexual context.
• Subvert: To undermine the power, authority, or moral principles of.

Antonyms

• Edify: To instruct or improve someone morally or intellectually.
• Ennoble: To give a noble quality to; to elevate.
• Purify: To make pure; to cleanse from moral imperfection.
• Uplift: To raise to a higher moral, social, or cultural level.

Related Phrases and Idioms

• Depraved indifference: A legal term for a conscious disregard of an extreme risk to human life.
  • He was charged with murder based on depraved indifference.
• While "deprave" itself is not commonly used in phrasal verbs, its related forms appear in descriptive phrases about moral state.

Verb

1. corrupt morally or by intemperance or sensuality
   • debauch the young people with wine and women
   • Socrates was accused of corrupting young men
   • Do school counselors subvert young children?
   • corrupt the morals