subvert
/sʌb'və:t/
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
- Verb:
- To undermine, destabilize, or destroy the power, authority, or principles of an established system, institution, or government: This is the core meaning, involving a deliberate attempt to weaken or overthrow from within.
- To corrupt someone, especially in morals, allegiance, or principles: This meaning focuses on leading someone away from accepted standards of behavior or belief.
Examples of Usage
- Verb:
- The rebels sought to subvert the authoritarian regime through propaganda and espionage.
- Spreading false information online can subvert public trust in democratic institutions.
- The novel explores how absolute power can subvert even the most honorable individual's morals.
Advanced Usage
"to subvert expectations": To deliberately act against what is traditionally or commonly expected, often in literature, film, or art.
- The film's ending subverts audience expectations by making the villain the true hero.
"to subvert the system": To work within a system to undermine or change its fundamental rules or outcomes.
- The artist uses graffiti to subvert the commercial advertising system in the city.
Variants and Related Words
Subversion (n): The act or process of subverting.
- He was accused of political subversion.
Subversive (adj/n): (Adjective) Intended to subvert. (Noun) A person who seeks to subvert.
- The government banned the subversive literature.
- She was labeled a subversive for her radical writings.
Synonyms
- Undermine: To weaken or impair gradually or insidiously.
- Overthrow: To remove from power, especially by force.
- Corrupt: To cause to become morally depraved.
Related Phrasal Verbs
(Note: "Subvert" is not commonly used with particles to form standard phrasal verbs. Its meaning is typically expressed directly.)
Related Idioms
- "A fifth column": This idiom refers to a group within a country who work to subvert it for an enemy. It relates to the concept of subversion from within.
- The regime was paranoid about fifth columnists seeking to subvert the state.
Verb
- destroy completely
- we must not let our civil liberties be subverted by the current crisis
- destroy property or hinder normal operations
- The Resistance sabotaged railroad operations during the war
- 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
- cause the downfall of; of rulers
- The Czar was overthrown
- subvert the ruling class