corruption

corruption — noun

1. behaviour in which someone uses a position of power for personal gain in a disho

1.nounB2
Definition

behaviour in which someone uses a position of power for personal gain in a dishonest or illegal way — for example, accepting money in exchange for giving a company a government contract

Example

The mayor was arrested on charges of corruption after taking bribes from developers.

collocation: charges of corruption

A special committee was formed to investigate corruption in the education department.

collocation: investigate corruption in [institution]

Common collocations
  • root out corruption
  • widespread corruption
  • corruption scandal
  • corruption charges
  • corruption investigation
Synonyms
  • bribery

    more specific; refers to offering/receiving money or gifts, while corruption is broader

  • graft

    American English, informal; focuses on using political power for personal money

  • fraud

    emphasises deliberate deception for financial gain, not necessarily requiring a position of power

  • misconduct

    broader and less severe; covers any improper behaviour, not just illegal acts

Antonyms
  • integrity

    the quality of being honest and having strong moral principles

  • honesty

    direct opposite in everyday contexts, though less specific

Grammar Patterns

corruption + in + [place/institution]

corruption + among + [group of people]

Usage Note

Frequently uncountable. Often appears in compound nouns such as anti-corruption, corruption scandal, and corruption case. The subject is typically an institution, government, or system rather than an individual.

Common Mistakes

The bribery is a kind of corruption in the government.
Bribery is a form of corruption that is common in many governments.
'Bribery' as a general concept does not need an article.
There are many corruptions in this office.
There is a lot of corruption in this office.
'Corruption' in this sense is uncountable.

2. a change in the way a word is written or spoken compared to its earlier form, us

2.nounC1
Definition

a change in the way a word is written or spoken compared to its earlier form, usually happening gradually as people use the word over long periods

Example

The word 'picnic' is a corruption of the French word 'pique-nique' from the 17th century.

pattern: corruption of [source word]

Linguists study how language corruption happens when two cultures come into close contact.

Common collocations
  • corruption of the original text
  • linguistic corruption
  • textual corruption
Synonyms
  • alteration

    neutral term without the negative connotation of 'corruption'

  • distortion

    implies a more extreme or misleading change

Grammar Patterns

corruption + of + [word/language]

Usage Note

In linguistics, this term can be uncountable (the general process) or countable with a plural form (specific instances of altered words). Some modern linguists avoid the term because it implies a value judgement that older forms are 'purer'.

Common Mistakes

The word's corruption happened when it was borrowed.
The word changed form when it was borrowed into English.
Modern linguists prefer neutral terms like 'change' or 'adaptation' over 'corruption'.

3. the state of electronic information becoming damaged or altered so that it can n

3.nounB2
Definition

the state of electronic information becoming damaged or altered so that it can no longer be read or used correctly by a computer system

Example

A sudden power cut caused data corruption, and half of the files would not open.

collocation: data corruption

The IT team ran a diagnostic check to find the source of the memory corruption.

collocation: memory corruption

Common collocations
  • data corruption
  • file corruption
  • memory corruption
  • disk corruption
  • corruption error
Synonyms
  • damage

    more general; corruption is a specific type of damage where data becomes unreadable

  • loss

    loss refers to data disappearing; corruption means it still exists but is unusable

Antonyms
  • integrity

    in computing, data integrity means data is complete and unaltered

Grammar Patterns

data corruption

file corruption

corruption + in + [storage medium]

Usage Note

Almost always uncountable. Commonly appears as the second element in compounds (data corruption, file corruption, memory corruption). Frequent in passive constructions related to prevention: 'can be prevented', 'must be detected'.

Common Mistakes

The corruption of the file made me lose my work.
File corruption made me lose my work.
The shorter compound form 'file corruption' is more natural in computing contexts.

4. the natural process by which dead plants, animals, or other organic material bre

4.nounC1
Definition

the natural process by which dead plants, animals, or other organic material breaks down, often through the action of bacteria or fungi

Example

The corruption of the wood was visible in the soft, dark patches along the fence posts.

pattern: corruption of [organic matter]

Ancient burial sites preserve bones well because the soil conditions slow down organic corruption.

Common collocations
  • corruption of the body
  • organic corruption
  • state of corruption
Synonyms
  • decay

    the more common, everyday word for the same process

  • decomposition

    technical term used in biology and chemistry

  • putrefaction

    specifically refers to decomposition with unpleasant smells, very formal

Antonyms
  • preservation

    the process of keeping organic matter from decaying

Grammar Patterns

corruption + of + [organic matter]

Usage Note

Now somewhat dated in everyday English; 'decay' or 'decomposition' are more common. This sense survives mainly in specialised biological or historical texts. Can also describe the deterioration of stone or metal through chemical processes.

Common Mistakes

The fruit was in corruption because we left it too long.
The fruit had started to decay because we left it too long.
'Decay' is the natural word for food going bad; 'corruption' in this sense is very formal and rarely used for everyday situations.

Word family

  • corrupt
    adjectiveB2
  • corrupt
    verbB2
  • corruptly
    adverbC1
  • corruptible
    adjectiveC1
  • incorruptible
    adjectiveC1
  • corruptive
    adjectiveC2

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

All four words describe dishonest behaviour, but they differ in scope and context. Bribery is the most specific — it refers narrowly to offering or accepting money or gifts to influence someone's actions, and is often a component of corruption rather than a synonym for it. Fraud involves deliberate deception for financial gain, such as falsifying documents or lying about a product, and does not require the perpetrator to hold a position of power. Graft is an informal American English term that focuses on using political office for personal profit, often through bribery or kickbacks. Misconduct is the broadest and least severe of the four — it covers any improper behaviour in a professional setting, from minor rule violations to serious offences, but does not necessarily imply illegality. For example, 'The construction company was fined for bribery,' 'The accountant was convicted of fraud,' 'The senator was accused of graft,' and 'The teacher faced a misconduct hearing for using inappropriate language.'

briberyfraud ↗graftmisconduct

Common collocations

Nouns

  • anti-corruption
  • corruption case
  • corruption charges
  • corruption investigation
  • corruption scandal

Phrases

  • root out corruption
  • stamp out corruption
  • widespread corruption
  • allegations of corruption
  • fight against corruption

Prepositions

  • corruption among
  • corruption in
  • corruption within

Etymology

LatinFrenchEnglish

The word 'corruption' comes from Latin 'corruptio' (meaning bribery, spoiling, or moral decay), which was formed from 'corrumpere' ('to break, ruin, or spoil'). It passed through Old French as 'corruption' before entering English during the 13th century. The earliest English uses referred to physical decay, with the political/legal sense appearing later. The computing sense emerged in the 20th century.