01 n. The act of corrupting or making putrid, or state of being corrupt or putrid; decomposition or disorganization, in the process of putrefacti…
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1.
The act of corrupting or making putrid, or state of being corrupt or putrid; decomposition or disorganization, in the process of putrefaction; putrefaction; deterioration.“The inducing and accelerating of putrefaction is a subject of very universal inquiry; for corruption is a reciprocal to “generation”.” — Bacon.
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2.
The product of corruption; putrid matter.
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3.
The act of corrupting or of impairing integrity, virtue, or moral principle; the state of being corrupted or debased; loss of purity or integrity; depravity; wickedness; impurity; bribery.“It was necessary, by exposing the gross corruptions of monasteries, . . . to exite popular indignation against them.” — Hallam.“They abstained from some of the worst methods of corruption usual to their party in its earlier days.” — Bancroft.
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4.
The act of changing, or of being changed, for the worse; departure from what is pure, simple, or correct; as, a corruption of style; corruption in language.“Corruption of blood can be removed only by act of Parliament.” — Blackstone.
Phrases & compounds
Corruption of blood —
taint or impurity of blood, in consequence of an act of attainder of treason or felony, by which a person is disabled from inheriting any estate or from transmitting it to others.
Syn.
Putrescence; putrefaction; defilement; contamination; deprivation; debasement; adulteration; depravity; taint. See Depravity.