DEPRAVE Synonyms: 74 Similar and Opposite Words

Q: How is the word 'deprave' different from other verbs like it?

Some common synonyms of deprave are corrupt , debase , debauch , pervert , and vitiate . While all these words mean "to cause deterioration or lowering in quality or character," deprave implies moral deterioration by evil thoughts or influences. // the claim that society is depraved by pornography

Q: Where would 'corrupt' be a reasonable alternative to 'deprave'?

The meanings of corrupt and deprave largely overlap; however, corrupt implies loss of soundness, purity, or integrity. // the belief that bureaucratese corrupts the language

Q: When can 'debase' be used instead of 'deprave'?

While the synonyms debase and deprave are close in meaning, debase implies a loss of position, worth, value, or dignity. // commercialism has debased the holiday

Q: In what contexts can 'debauch' take the place of 'deprave'?

Although the words debauch and deprave have much in common, debauch implies a debasing through sensual indulgence. // the long stay on a tropical isle had debauched the ship's crew

Q: When might 'pervert' be a better fit than 'deprave'?

In some situations, the words pervert and deprave are roughly equivalent. However, pervert implies a twisting or distorting from what is natural or normal. // perverted the original goals of the institute

Q: When is 'vitiate' a more appropriate choice than 'deprave'?

While in some cases nearly identical to deprave , vitiate implies a destruction of purity, validity, or effectiveness by allowing entrance of a fault or defect. // a foreign policy vitiated by partisanship

deprave

verb

di-ˈprāv

Definition of deprave

as in to corrupt

to lower in character, dignity, or quality the belief that pornography depraves society as a whole

Synonyms & Similar Words

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How is the word deprave different from other verbs like it?

Some common synonyms of deprave are corrupt, debase, debauch, pervert, and vitiate. While all these words mean "to cause deterioration or lowering in quality or character," deprave implies moral deterioration by evil thoughts or influences.

the claim that society is depraved by pornography

Where would corrupt be a reasonable alternative to deprave?

The meanings of corrupt and deprave largely overlap; however, corrupt implies loss of soundness, purity, or integrity.

the belief that bureaucratese corrupts the language

When can debase be used instead of deprave?

While the synonyms debase and deprave are close in meaning, debase implies a loss of position, worth, value, or dignity.

commercialism has debased the holiday

In what contexts can debauch take the place of deprave?

Although the words debauch and deprave have much in common, debauch implies a debasing through sensual indulgence.

the long stay on a tropical isle had debauched the ship's crew

When might pervert be a better fit than deprave?

In some situations, the words pervert and deprave are roughly equivalent. However, pervert implies a twisting or distorting from what is natural or normal.

perverted the original goals of the institute

When is vitiate a more appropriate choice than deprave?

While in some cases nearly identical to deprave, vitiate implies a destruction of purity, validity, or effectiveness by allowing entrance of a fault or defect.

a foreign policy vitiated by partisanship

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 deprave Online court records show he is charged with first-degree murder dangerous depraved without premeditation. — Kc Baker, PEOPLE, 2 Apr. 2026 Murdering a teenaged iconic athlete shows how deeply depraved the Iranian leadership is. — Jackson Thompson, FOXNews.com, 19 Mar. 2026 Trump's No Kings video was truly depraved. — Bill Goodykoontz, AZCentral.com, 20 Oct. 2025 DiCaprio has played disturbed and depraved individuals in Scorsese’s films before, but Killers of the Flower Moon is something different. — Tim Grierson, Vulture, 26 Sep. 2025 This is especially true when the news operation is clearly on the side of righteousness against a policy as depraved this. — David Zurawik, baltimoresun.com, 15 June 2018 McDonagh complicates Mildred's story by showing how the lust for justice can grow depraved the longer it is denied — a favorite subject of dramatists going back to Aeschylus. — Charles McNulty, latimes.com, 1 Mar. 2018

Recent Examples of Synonyms for deprave

Verb

The play depends on the creeping eeriness of thinking your place of comfort has been corrupted and undercut by evil.

— Jackson McHenry, Vulture, 26 Aug. 2026
There, Prue must go on a journey to save her younger brother Mac from crows led by a woman named Alexandra (Carey Mulligan), who captures Curtis and attempts to corrupt him for her own mysterious purposes.

— Wilson Chapman, IndieWire, 19 Aug. 2026

Definition of corrupt

Verb

Iran is expanding its defense capabilities, an Iranian army commander said Wednesday, after much of the country’s equipment was degraded by US-Israeli strikes in the early days of the war.

— Mustafa Qadri, CNN Money, 26 Aug. 2026
The status of its nuclear program, degraded by bombing strikes in 2025, hasn't changed.

— Susan Page, USA Today, 25 Aug. 2026

Definition of degrade

Verb

Even if Korea can maintain 2% economic growth over the next two decades, consumption growth gradually weakens and eventually turns negative, according to Goldman’s long-term modeling.

— Mia Osmonbekov, Fortune, 30 Aug. 2026
Riggs said the Teamsters’ safety argument is weakened by the inconsistent safety record of human truck drivers, who have fallen asleep at the wheel or driven while distracted or otherwise impaired.

— Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 29 Aug. 2026

Definition of weaken

Verb

Just as bright, witty, and debauched as their namesake, this unique protagonist is on a path of self-discovery, gaining insight into not just their gender identity, but also their preternatural attraction to transgression and risk.

— Judy Berman, Time, 8 July 2026
And regular Kate Moss’s turn on the decks one memorable, and debauched, night in 2015 had revelers literally swinging from the chandeliers.

— Nick Scott, Robb Report, 13 June 2026

Definition of debauch

Verb

More important to Bernstein is what that lust reveals about her characters’ deepest needs, specifically how their need to care and be cared for can be as easily perverted as any other form of desire.

— David Ehrlich, IndieWire, 9 July 2026
Georgia Bernstein’s unsettling directorial debut focuses on how warped and perverted those desires become when they’re taken to their insatiable extremes.

— Randy Myers, Mercury News, 8 July 2026

Definition of pervert

Verb

The film’s procedural aspect ticks along just fine, holding the attention without subverting expectations, and carried by actors who, much like the detectives in this case, are ultra-capable professionals with no inclination to go rogue on us.

— Guy Lodge, Variety, 28 Aug. 2026
The show also pokes fun at the late 1990s and early 2000s liberal cultural consensus that was upheld in other popular culture of the time while also both replicating and subverting stereotypes of suburban Southern white Americans.

— Jordana Rosenfeld, Encyclopedia Britannica, 24 Aug. 2026

Definition of subvert

Verb

Veterinarians determined that the snake's venom poisoned Samba, prompting them to give her antivenin.

— Anthony Thompson, USA Today, 28 Aug. 2026
Glutathione is processed in sterile compounding pharmacies, and there have been cases of people getting poisoned due to contamination at these facilities, Sack said.

— ABC News, ABC News, 23 Aug. 2026

Definition of poison

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“Deprave.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/deprave. Accessed 2 Sep. 2026.

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Synonyms of deprave

verb

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'Deprived' vs. 'Depraved'

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