dishonest or illegal behaviour by people in power who abuse their position for personal gain
The journalist uncovered massive corruption in the city government.
Citizens marched in protest, demanding an end to political corruption.
✦ From Latin ‘corruptio’ (spoiling, breaking down), from ‘corrumpere’ meaning ‘to destroy or spoil’.
the process of something becoming spoiled, impure, or morally decayed
High humidity caused the metal to weaken through corruption over time.
The historian studied the moral corruption that ruined the ancient empire.
✦ Same origin as primary sense; Latin roots relating to ‘spoiling’ or ‘breaking apart’.
a change or error in language, text, or computer data that makes it damaged, inaccurate, or unusable
A sudden power cut resulted in the corruption of the saved file.
Scholars debate whether the manuscript shows corruption in its copied lines.
✦ Extended modern sense influenced by computer science jargon in the 1960s, applying the older idea of ‘spoiling’ to electronic data.
