corrupting

verb

present participle of corrupt
1
as in decomposing
to go through decomposition a dead mouse corrupting in the walls produced a terrible smell

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in degrading
to lower in character, dignity, or quality some observers believe that grossly violent movies corrupt the people who watch them as well as the people who make them

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in bribing
to influence someone with a bribe he bragged about having corrupted half of the officials on the city council

Synonyms & Similar Words

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 corrupting In this way at least, the mayor follows in the path of Socrates by corrupting the young. — Voice Of The People, New York Daily News, 18 Feb. 2026 Character also involves standing up to people who are bankrupting and corrupting this country. — CBS News, 31 May 2026 Blakeney then recruited other players on the team, corrupting the integrity of games, according to the indictment. — Paulina Dedaj , Ryan Morik , Andrew Fone, FOXNews.com, 15 Jan. 2026 An early discussion about social contracts comes down to us in Plato’s dialogue Crito in which Socrates, condemned to death for allegedly corrupting the youth, refused an offer to escape from prison. — George G. Szpiro, Big Think, 9 Apr. 2026 For Hildegard of Bingen, the German mystic, scientist, composer, and philosopher, women’s maternal bodies were not corrupting and degrading, but strong, nurturing, and creative. — Literary Hub, 18 Mar. 2026 Richard Pazdur, a longtime cancer drug regulator, retired from the CDER director post in December due to concerns that political officials were corrupting the agency’s scientific process. — Lizzy Lawrence, STAT, 6 Mar. 2026 Meanwhile, the Pima County Sheriff Office investigating Nancy Guthrie’s disappearance is facing troubles of its own, as a former sheriff has accused current leadership of ‘corrupting’ the crime scene, and a deputy has been arrested and fired on a kidnapping charge. — Giulia Carbonaro, MSNBC Newsweek, 31 Mar. 2026 Achim Kempf, the Chair for Physics of Information and AI in the Department of Applied Mathematics, and Koji Yamaguchi, then a post-doctoral researcher at the University of Waterloo, co-discovered a method to copy quantum information without corrupting it. — Ameya Paleja, Interesting Engineering, 7 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for corrupting
  1. decomposing
  2. degrading
  3. bribing
  4. disintegrating
  5. subverting
  6. seducing
  7. decaying
  8. weakening
Verb
  • The Yolo County Central Landfill will build a new system that will convert methane from decomposing waste into renewable natural gas, the county announced Tuesday.
    — Daniel Lempres, Sacbee.com, 30 June 2026
  • The ocean becomes a creamy expanse splotched with brown mats of decomposing algae, according to photos shared by Abrams.
    — Bill Kearney, Sun Sentinel, 28 June 2026
Definition of decomposing
Verb
  • But explosions at nuclear, missile and drone facilities and assassinations of scientists outside the direct conflicts of June 2025 and from February 2026 clearly map to the goal of degrading Iranian military capabilities in between wars.
    — Amy McAuliffe, The Conversation, 26 June 2026
  • Grade 5 titanium is notoriously difficult to work with, its hardness rapidly degrading cutting tools and leaving little margin for error.
    — Richard Mille Contributor, Forbes.com, 25 June 2026
Definition of degrading
Verb
  • They are charged with wire fraud conspiracy, bribery in sporting contests and money laundering conspiracy for allegedly bribing Beasley to manipulate his performance.
    — Steve Henson, Los Angeles Times, 29 June 2026
  • Similar raids by the feds at addresses tied to then-Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao and then-San Leandro City Councilmember Bryan Azevedo eventually led to criminal indictments against both politicians, as well as the businessmen accused of bribing them.
    — Nate Gartrell, Mercury News, 9 June 2026
Definition of bribing
Verb
  • That changed in April 2023 when unknowing construction workers unceremoniously removed a disintegrating Pinky from its eyrie.
    — Ryan Steven Green, Los Angeles Times, 29 June 2026
  • The experiments have shown how a self-repair mechanism enables the spindle to stabilize itself under force and avoid disintegrating.
    — Jake Buehler, Quanta Magazine, 29 June 2026
Definition of disintegrating
Verb
  • These movies are about shocking and surprising the audience by setting up an expectation and then subverting that expectation.
    — Brian Davids, HollywoodReporter, 17 June 2026
  • Director Wes Craven executes a masterclass in tension, shock, and subverting expectations.
    — Brianna Zigler, Entertainment Weekly, 15 June 2026
Definition of subverting
Verb
  • The writer thinks that the person seducing the main character is just some flotsam, hardly worth a second look.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 26 June 2026
  • That means seducing Paris Carver, Elliot's wife and Bond's ex, portrayed by Teri Hatcher.
    — John Russell, PEOPLE, 19 May 2026
Definition of seducing
Verb
  • Larger flies, like houseflies, are after decaying matter such as food waste and pet droppings.
    — Sharon Wu, USA Today, 4 July 2026
  • Soak in the mineral-rich waters of nearby Travertine Hot Springs and observe a decaying mining town at Bodie State Historic Park.
    — Chelsee Lowe, Travel + Leisure, 1 July 2026
Definition of decaying
Verb
  • Goldman Sachs predicts a sustained dollar weakening in 2026, driven by fiscal concerns and shifting global asset demand, marking a structural shift rather than a cyclical dip.
    — Jason Kirsch, Forbes.com, 2 July 2026
  • Ukrainian officials describe the strikes as a campaign to pressure Moscow to end the war by undermining its military logistics and supply lines and weakening its ability to mount assaults along the front.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 1 July 2026
Definition of weakening

Browse Nearby Words

corruptible
corrupting
corruption
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Cite this Entry

“Corrupting.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/corrupting. Accessed 7 Jul. 2026.

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