cor·rup·tion /kəˈrʌpʃən/
 腐敗,墮落,貪汙


 Cor·rup·tion n.
 1. The act of corrupting or making putrid, or state of being corrupt or putrid; decomposition or disorganization, in the process of putrefaction; putrefaction; deterioration.
    The inducing and accelerating of putrefaction is a subject of very universal inquiry; for corruption is a reciprocal to =\“generation”.\=   --Bacon.
 2. The product of corruption; putrid matter.
 3. The act of corrupting or of impairing integrity, virtue, or moral principle; the state of being corrupted or debased; loss of purity or integrity; depravity; wickedness; impurity; bribery.
    It was necessary, by exposing the gross corruptions of monasteries, . . . to exite popular indignation against them.   --Hallam.
    They abstained from some of the worst methods of corruption usual to their party in its earlier days.   --Bancroft.
 Note: ☞ Corruption, when applied to officers, trustees, etc., signifies the inducing a violation of duty by means of pecuniary considerations.
 4. The act of changing, or of being changed, for the worse; departure from what is pure, simple, or correct; as, a corruption of style; corruption in language.
 Corruption of blood Law, taint or impurity of blood, in consequence of an act of attainder of treason or felony, by which a person is disabled from inheriting any estate or from transmitting it to others.
    Corruption of blood can be removed only by act of Parliament.   --Blackstone.
 Syn: -- Putrescence; putrefaction; defilement; contamination; deprivation; debasement; adulteration; depravity; taint. See Depravity.

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 corruption
      n 1: lack of integrity or honesty (especially susceptibility to
           bribery); use of a position of trust for dishonest gain
           [syn: corruptness] [ant: incorruptness]
      2: in a state of progressive putrefaction [syn: putrescence,
         putridness, rottenness]
      3: decay of matter (as by rot or oxidation)
      4: moral perversion; impairment of virtue and moral principles;
         "the luxury and corruption among the upper classes";
         "moral degeneracy followed intellectual degeneration";
         "its brothels; its opium parlors; its depravity" [syn: degeneracy,
          depravity]
      5: destroying someone's (or some group's) honesty or loyalty;
         undermining moral integrity; "corruption of a minor"; "the
         big city's subversion of rural innocence" [syn: subversion]
      6: inducement (as of a public official) by improper means (as
         bribery) to violate duty (as by commiting a felony); "he
         was held on charges of corruption and racketeering"