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When you act with abandon, you give in to the impulse of the moment and behave in a wild, uncontrolled way.
The word abject emphasizes a very bad situation or quality, thereby making it even worse.
If you abominate something, you hate it because you think it is extremely wrong and unacceptable.
An affable person is pleasant, friendly, and easy to talk to.
Something that is apposite is relevant or suitable to what is happening or being discussed.
If you describe someone as benign, they are kind, gentle, and harmless.
If you comport yourself in a particular way, you behave in that way.
Two people concordant with each other are in agreement or harmony.
A condign reward or punishment is deserved by and appropriate or fitting for the person who receives it.
A decadent person has low moral standards and is more interested in pleasure than serious matters.
Decorous appearance or behavior is respectable, polite, and appropriate for a given occasion.
A degenerate person is immoral, wicked, or corrupt.
Your deportment is the way you behave, walk, and stand in public.
If you say a person’s actions are despicable, you think they are extremely unpleasant or nasty.
If you say something is diabolical, you are emphasizing that it is evil, cruel, or very bad.
If you refer to the enormity of a situation, problem, or event, you mean that it is very evil or morally offensive; this word has nothing to do with physical size.
An action that is flagrant shows that someone does not care if they obviously break the rules or highly offend people.
If you describe something as heinous, you mean that is extremely evil, shocking, and bad.
Iniquity is an immoral act, wickedness, or evil.
When someone has integrity, they do the right thing, no matter what; therefore, they are an honest and good person.
A malevolent person or thing is evil due to deliberate attempts to cause harm.
Malfeasance is an unlawful act, especially one committed by a trusted public official.
Malice is a type of hatred that causes a strong desire to harm others both physically and emotionally.
Someone who is meritorious is worthy of receiving recognition or is praiseworthy because of what they have accomplished.
When you behave with moderation, you live in a balanced and measured way; you do nothing to excess.
A nefarious activity is considered evil and highly dishonest.
If you describe people or things as odious, you think that they are extremely unpleasant.
Someone who is profligate is lacking in restraint, which can manifest in carelessly and wastefully using resources, such as energy or money; this kind of person can also act in an immoral way.
A reprobate has a bad character and behaves in an immoral or improper way.
The sanctity of something is its holiness or sacred quality.
Something sinister makes you feel that an evil, bad, or harmful thing is about to happen.
An environment or character can be sordid—the former dirty, the latter low or base in an immoral or greedy sort of way.
Something statutory, such as the power given to a governor or president, is created, established, and controlled by rules and laws; hence, it has the full force of the law behind it and must be followed.
Turpitude is the state of engaging in immoral or evil activities.
An unprincipled person is immoral, not ethical, or dishonest; therefore, they often do things that are wrong.
A vicious person is corrupt, violent, aggressive, and highly immoral.
Something vile is evil, very unpleasant, horrible, or extremely bad.
If someone vitiates something, they make it less effective, weaker, or reduced in quality.
A wanton action deliberately harms someone or damages something for no apparent or good reason.
Noun
depravity
di-PRAV-i-tee
Context
The highly immoral and cruel villain was accused of several terrible acts of depravity and corruption. Among his horrible deeds of depravity and immorality was the theft of hospital supplies that were supposed to be used for victims of a hurricane, which he subsequently sold for profit. After listening to the evidence against him, the jury and the judge were shocked by such depravity and outright wickedness. The depraved and sinful criminal was sentenced under the full penalty of the law.
Quiz:Try again!
What is an example of depravity?
Refusing to eat or drink anything until people listen to your demands.
Living without any luxury items and having only the basic things you need to survive.
Committing a senseless crime that harms many other people.
Deep Gravity The deep gravity or seriousness of the multiple crimes that Jack the Ripper committed was a testament to his thoroughly horrific depravity.
Examples
History is not the story of heroes entirely. It is often the story of cruelty and injustice and shortsightedness. There are monsters, there is evil, there is betrayal. That's why people should read Shakespeare and Dickens as well as history—they will find the best, the worst, the height of noble attainment and the depths of depravity.
—
David McCullough, American historian and author
Thumbing his nose at the pious patriots who ruled the city, [Benedict Arnold] purchased an ornate carriage and entertained extravagantly at his new residence, the same grand house the British general William Howe had occupied. He attended the theater, even though the Continental Congress had advised the states to ban such entertainments as “productive of idleness, dissipation and general depravity.”
—
Smithsonian Magazine
“The depravity and lack of humanity captured in these videos show the deliberate intention to cause ultimate harm and humiliation to victims, in clear violation of international humanitarian law,” said Denis Krivosheev, Amnesty International’s research director for eastern Europe and central Asia, in the report.
—
The Guardian
Depravity is the “state or quality of being thoroughly evil.”
Word Theater
Africa's Great Civilizations: The Atlantic Age The depravity of kidnapping people and forcing them into slavery was widespread in the Kingdom of Kongo.
The panel shows a small video clip of either the word in actual use or a scene that represents the meaning of a word. This not only breaks up the monotony of studying words but also provides another avenue to strengthen word meaning. Enjoy!
Word Constellation
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Related Words
abandon ·
abject ·
abominate ·
decadent ·
degenerate ·
despicable ·
diabolical ·
enormity ·
flagrant ·
heinous ·
iniquity+ ·
malevolent ·
malfeasance ·
malice ·
nefarious ·
odious ·
profligate ·
reprobate ·
sinister ·
sordid+ ·
turpitude ·
unprincipled+ ·
vicious+ ·
vile+ ·
vitiate ·
wanton ·
affable ·
apposite ·
benign ·
comport ·
concordant ·
condign ·
decorous ·
deportment ·
integrity+ ·
meritorious+ ·
moderation+ ·
sanctity+ ·
statutory ·
Similar sense
Opposite sense
Word Variants
depraved
adj
→
morally corrupt
The section lists important variants and alternate definitions of the headword. Knowing variants will often help you both remember and understand the word. Not all variants are listed - only the ones we think that are important for you to know.
