deprave

D2E1P3R1A1V4E1
UK/dɪˈpɹeɪv/

verb

To speak ill of; to depreciate; to malign; to revile

Similar
badmouthdissvilifyassassinateaspersebackbitebefoulbelibel
OriginMiddle English depraven ← Old French depraver ← Latin dēprāvāre →
Scrabble 13
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Meanings

verbdeprave (third-person singular simple present depraves, present participle depraving, simple past and past participle depraved)

present singular third person depraves · participle present depraving · participle past depraved · past depraved

  1. transitiveTo speak ill of; to depreciate; to malign; to revile

    Synonyms: badmouth, diss, vilify, assassinate, asperse, backbite, badmouth, befoul

  2. transitiveTo make bad or worse; to vitiate; to corrupt

    Interpreting humanity in purely zoological categories, he saw the social community as a form of natural co-operation within the species, distorted or depraved by religious prejudice, while in moral speculation he did not advance beyond the eudaemonistic schema of the Enlightenment.

    1978 [1976], Leszek Kołakowski, translated by P[aul] S[teven] Falla, Main Currents of Marxism, volume I: The Founders, Oxford: Clarendon Press, translation of Główne nurty marksizmu: powstanie (in Polish), →ISBN, →OCLC, page 118

    Synonyms: blight, upset, ruin, ball up, blight, bumble, botch, bugger up

Synonyms & antonyms

verbTo speak ill of; to depreciate; to malign; to revile

Similar
badmouthdissvilifyassassinateaspersebackbitebadmouthbefoulbelibelbesmirchbesmearbewrayblackenblameblazeblemishblotblurcalumniatecalumny

verbTo make bad or worse; to vitiate; to corrupt

Similar
blightupsetruinball upblightbumblebotchbugger upbunglecontaminatecorruptcrabdisruptdisturbfoilfuck upjack upmarmess up

More synonyms by meaning

verbcorrupt morally or by intemperance or sensuality

Similar
corruptpervertsubvertdemoralizedemoralisedebauchdebaseprofanevitiatemisdirect
Broader
changealtermodify
Also see
ball upblightblotbotchbunglecontaminatecook someone's goosecorruptdebasedebauchdefamedemoralizefoilmisdirectmommickpervertpolluteprofaneruinsoilspoilsubvertupset the applecartvitiate

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Latindēprāvāre“pervert, distort, corrupt”
  2. Old Frenchdepraver
  3. Middle Englishdepraven
  4. Englishdeprave

From Middle English depraven, from Old French depraver, from Latin dēprāvāre (“pervert, distort, corrupt”), from de- + pravus (“crooked, distorted, perverse, wicked”).

More words from Middle English, Old French, Latin

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Bulgarian развалям, влошавам
  • развалям (razvaljam)To make bad or worse
  • влошавам (vlošavam)To make bad or worse
Czech kazit, zkazit
  • kazitTo make bad or worse
  • zkazitTo make bad or worse
  • narušitTo make bad or worse
  • pokazit mravněTo make bad or worse
Dutch kwaad spreken, bekladden
  • kwaad sprekenTo speak ill of
  • bekladdenTo speak ill of
  • slecht makenTo make bad or worse
  • doen verloederenTo make bad or worse
  • doen ontaardenTo make bad or worse
German verderben
  • verderbenTo make bad or worse
Irish truailligh
  • truaillighTo make bad or worse
Italian depravare
  • depravareTo speak ill of
Māori whakatautauhea
  • whakatautauheaTo make bad or worse

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with deprave

savedavewaveslavecavegraveWAVbravefavebehaveraveshavewaivepavecravenavestavesuaveclaveengraveMaeveenslaveknavelave
All rhymes →

Anagrams

pervade
Cite this entry
APA

deprave. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/deprave

MLA

“deprave.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/deprave. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “deprave,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/deprave.

Source: deprave on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.