pervert

Etymology

From Old French pervertir, itself from the Latin pervertō.

Pronunciation

• (noun)
  • (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈpəːvəːt/
  • (US): IPA^(key): /ˈpəɹvəɹt/
• (verb)
  • (UK) IPA^(key): /pəˈvəːt/
  • (US): IPA^(key): /pɚˈvɝt/
• Rhymes: -ɜː(r)t

Noun

pervert (plural perverts)

1. (dated) One who has been perverted; one who has turned to error; one who has turned to a twisted sense of values or morals.
2. A person whose sexual habits are not considered acceptable.
   • 1951, J.D. Salinger, The Catcher in the Rye, Chapter 24:

     I know more damn perverts, at schools and all, than anybody you ever met, and they're always being perverty when I'm around.

   Those perverts were trying to spy on us while we changed clothes!

Verb

pervert (third-person singular simple present perverts, present participle perverting, simple past and past participle perverted)

1. (transitive) To turn another way; to divert.
   • 1623, William Shakespeare, Cymbeline

     Let's follow him, and pervert the present wrath.

2. (transitive) To corrupt; to cause to be untrue; corrupted or otherwise impure
   • 1667, John Milton, Paradise Lost

     He, in the serpent, had perverted Eve.

   • 2004 April 15, “Morning swoop in hunt for Jodi's killer”, in The Scotsman‎:

     A spokesman for Lothian and Borders Police said: "We can confirm that a 15-year-old boy has been arrested and charged in connection with the murder of Jodi Jones. A 45-year-old has also been arrested in connection with allegations of attempting to pervert the course of justice. A report on this has been sent to the procurator fiscal."

3. To misapply; to misinterpret designedly.

   pervert one's words

4. (intransitive) To become perverted; to take the wrong course.

   (Can we find and add a quotation of Testament of Love to this entry?)

Related terms

• perverse
• perversion

Anagrams

• prevert

Etymology

From the Latin verb pervertere "to overturn" or "to subvert".

Noun

pervert f

1. a pervert