as in corrupt
having or showing lowered moral character or standards
the depraved actions of a gang of madmen who had gained control of an entire nation
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in perverted
to lower in character, dignity, or quality
the belief that pornography depraves society as a whole
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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 depraved
Mandy Taheri, MSNBC Newsweek, 2 Aug. 2025
Our narrator is Alex, an apathetic and depraved teen gang leader who is as pleased by violence as he is enthralled with classical music.
—Robert English, EW.com, 30 July 2025
Our message to these depraved criminals is clear: LEAVE NOW.
—Brooke Taylor, FOXNews.com, 29 July 2025
The series refutes two of Donald Trump’s bigger lies: that climate change is a hoax and undocumented immigrants are depraved.
—Air Mail, 21 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for depraved
Adjective
That's the sort of depraved conditions that drove those in detention there to ten days of hunger strike so far.
—Mandy Taheri, MSNBC Newsweek, 2 Aug. 2025
Our narrator is Alex, an apathetic and depraved teen gang leader who is as pleased by violence as he is enthralled with classical music.
—Robert English, EW.com, 30 July 2025
Our message to these depraved criminals is clear: LEAVE NOW.
—Brooke Taylor, FOXNews.com, 29 July 2025
The series refutes two of Donald Trump’s bigger lies: that climate change is a hoax and undocumented immigrants are depraved.
—Air Mail, 21 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for depraved
Recent Examples of Synonyms for depraved
Adjective
-
Our institutions are failing us — either corrupt or underfunded, gutted and useless — and we’re absorbed with stories of characters that manage to save themselves, and on their own terms.—
Charlotte Phillipp,
PEOPLE,
28 Sep. 2025
-
That failure was on corrupt leadership.—
Emma Marsden,
MSNBC Newsweek,
28 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
The real fiends were the ones who perverted science, who attacked this misunderstood giant out of fear, who branded him as something unholy and unworthy to exist, who gave him life but didn’t give him love.—
David Fear,
Rolling Stone,
9 Sep. 2025
-
Instead, the concept has been perverted to mean higher-ed grandees' exclusive right to determine who participates in scholarly life.—
Ilya Shapiro,
MSNBC Newsweek,
14 Aug. 2025
Adjective
-
Under her leadership, the NYBG’s research team has expanded to 81 projects across 79 countries to conserve disappearing plant species, restore degraded ecosystems, and breed crops to withstand drought, sea level rise and extreme heat under climate change.—
Eduardo Garcia,
Forbes.com,
18 Sep. 2025
-
Smoke will also lead to degraded air quality.—
CA Weather Bot,
Sacbee.com,
8 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
The last generation of revolutionaries was corrupted by the system.—
Kapil Komireddi,
New Yorker,
22 Sep. 2025
-
The baffling Windows 11 update bug that corrupted SSDs now appears to be linked to storage drives running pre-release firmware.—
PC Magazine,
PC Magazine,
9 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
Today’s over-85 cohort may also be frailer and sicker than the oldest-old were 30 years ago, Gill added, because contemporary medicine can keep people alive longer.—
Paula Span,
Miami Herald,
25 Sep. 2025
-
Officials don't recommend consuming any meat from animals that are visibly sick, but healthy deer harvested from areas where EHD has been present are still safe to eat, the DNR says.—
Jalen Williams,
Freep.com,
25 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Humberto weakened slightly to a high-end Category 4 hurricane Sunday morning.—
Chris Dolce,
CNN Money,
28 Sep. 2025
-
So while the law still technically exists in Texas, its enforcement has been weakened.—
Tiffani Jackson,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
26 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
France had been humiliated in 1871 by Prussia in a foolish war of its own making, and Dreyfus, accused of passing military secrets to the Germans, was a convenient scapegoat in a time of national malaise.—
Ian Buruma,
New Yorker,
22 Sep. 2025
-
Leno later said he felt humiliated by Kimmel’s jibe.—
Greg Evans,
Deadline,
19 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
The dark comedy follows a wealthy socialite, Stacy (Cherry), and a struggling writer, Becky (Chalotra), who are brought together at a lavish, debauched New York party.—
Lily Ford,
HollywoodReporter,
14 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Depraved.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/depraved. Accessed 1 Oct. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share