different between corrupt vs criminal

English

Alternative forms

• corrumpt (archaic)
• corrump (obsolete)
• corroupt (rare)

Etymology

From Middle English corrupten, derived from Latin corruptus, past participle of corrump?, corrumpere (“to destroy, ruin, injure, spoil, corrupt, bribe”), from com- (“together”) + rumpere (“to break in pieces”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /k????pt/
• Rhymes: -?pt

Adjective

corrupt (comparative more corrupt, superlative most corrupt)

1. In a depraved state; debased; perverted; morally degenerate; weak in morals.

   The government here is corrupt, so we'll emigrate to escape them.

   • The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence.
2. Abounding in errors; not genuine or correct; in an invalid state.

   The text of the manuscript is corrupt.

   It turned out that the program was corrupt - that's why it wouldn't open.

3. In a putrid state; spoiled; tainted; vitiated; unsound.

   • with such corrupt and pestilent bread to feed them.

Usage notes

• Nouns to which "corrupt" is often applied: practice, state, country, nation, regime, city, government, person, man, politician, leader, mayor, judge, member, minister, file, database, document, woman.

Synonyms

• corrupted

Translations

Verb

corrupt (third-person singular simple present corrupts, present participle corrupting, simple past and past participle corrupted)

1. (transitive) To make corrupt; to change from good to bad; to draw away from the right path; to deprave; to pervert.

   • And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth.

2. (archaic, intransitive) To become putrid, tainted, or otherwise impure; to putrefy; to rot.

   • he entrails, which are the parts aptest to corrupt
3. To debase or make impure by alterations or additions; to falsify.

4. To waste, spoil, or consume; to make worthless.

   • Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt.

Translations

Related terms

• corruptible
• corruption
• incorruptible

References

• corrupt in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.
• corrupt in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.

Dutch

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin corruptus or from Middle French corrupt.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /k??r?pt/
• Hyphenation: cor?rupt
• Rhymes: -?pt

Adjective

corrupt (comparative corrupter, superlative corruptst)

1. corrupt (lacking integrity, being prone to discriminating, open to bribes, etc.)

2. (textual criticism) corrupt (containing (many) errors)

3. deprave, morally corrupt

Inflection

Related terms

• corrumperen
• corruptie

Descendants

• Afrikaans: korrup
• ? Indonesian: korup
• ? West Frisian: korrupt

Middle French

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin corruptus.

Adjective

corrupt m (feminine singular corrupte, masculine plural corrupts, feminine plural corruptes)

1. corrupt (impure; not in its original form)

English

Etymology

From Middle English cryminal, borrowed from Anglo-Norman criminal, from Late Latin criminalis, from Latin crimen (“crime”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?k??m?n?l/

Adjective

criminal (comparative more criminal, superlative most criminal)

1. Against the law; forbidden by law.

   • Foppish and fantastic ornaments are only indications of vice, not criminal in themselves.

2. Guilty of breaking the law.
   • a. 1729, John Rogers, The Difficulties of Obtaining Salvation

     The neglect of any of the relative duties renders us criminal in the sight of God.

3. Of or relating to crime or penal law.
   • 1827, Henry Hallam, The Constitutional History of England

     The officers and servants of the crown, violating the personal liberty, or other right of the subject […] in some cases, were liable to criminal process.

4. (figuratively) Abhorrent or very undesirable.

Usage notes

• Nouns to which "criminal" is often applied: law, justice, court, procedure, prosecution, intent, case, record, act, action, behavior, code, offence, liability, investigation, conduct, defense, trial, history, responsibility, lawyer, tribunal, appeal, process, background, mind, conspiracy, evidence, gang, organization, underworld, jurisprudence, offender, jury, police, past, group, punishment, attorney, violence, report, career, psychology.

Synonyms

• crimeful
• illegal
• delictuous

Derived terms

Related terms

Translations

Noun

criminal (plural criminals)

1. A person who is guilty of a crime, notably breaking the law.

   Synonyms: lawbreaker, offender, perpetrator

Synonyms

• See also Thesaurus:criminal

Hypernyms

• person

Derived terms

• cybercriminal
• thought criminal

Translations

Catalan

Etymology

From Latin crimin?lis.

Pronunciation

• (Balearic, Central, Valencian) IPA^(key): /k?i.mi?nal/

Adjective

criminal (masculine and feminine plural criminals)

1. criminal (against the law)
2. criminal (guilty of breaking the law)
3. criminal (of or relating to crime)

Derived terms

Noun

criminal m or f (plural criminals)

1. criminal (a person who is guilty of a crime)

Related terms

• crim

Further reading

• “criminal” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
• “criminal” in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana.
• “criminal” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
• “criminal” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.

Old French

Etymology

Borrowed from Late Latin or Juridical Latin crimin?lis, from Latin cr?men.

Adjective

criminal m (oblique and nominative feminine singular criminale)

1. criminal; illegal; against the law

Declension

Portuguese

Etymology

Borrowed from Late Latin or Juridical Latin crimin?lis (“criminal”), from Latin cr?men (“verdict; crime”).

Pronunciation

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /k?i.mi.?na?/
• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /k?i.mi.?naw/

Adjective

criminal m or f (plural criminais, not comparable)

1. (law) criminal (of or relating to crime or penal law)

Related terms

Further reading

• “criminal” in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa.

Romanian

Etymology

Borrowed from French criminel, Late Latin criminalis, from Latin crimen.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [kri.mi?nal]

Noun

criminal m (plural criminali, feminine equivalent criminal?)

1. criminal, felon, perpetrator, offender, lawbreaker
2. murderer, slayer
3. cutthroat, thug

Declension

Adjective

criminal m or n (feminine singular criminal?, masculine plural criminali, feminine and neuter plural criminale)

1. criminal, felonious, lawbreaking
2. murderous, homicidal
3. cutthroat

Declension

Related terms

• criminalitate

Adverb

criminal

1. criminally

Related terms

• crim?

Spanish

Etymology

Borrowed from Late Latin or Juridical Latin crimin?lis (“criminal”), from Latin cr?men (“verdict; crime”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /k?imi?nal/, [k?i.mi?nal]
• Rhymes: -al

Adjective

criminal (plural criminales)

1. criminal

Derived terms

• criminalmente
• criminalista
• criminalizar

Noun

criminal m or f (plural criminales)

1. criminal

Related terms

• crimen
• criminalidad
• acriminar

Further reading

• “criminal” in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014.