depraved means perverted or extremely wrong in a moral sense.
depraved is pronounced /dɪˈpɹeɪvd/.
Why “depraved” is a great word
Utterly corrupt in a moral sense, perverted by a profound and deliberate wickedness. From the Latin depravare, meaning 'to pervert, distort, or corrupt', from de- ('thoroughly') and pravus ('crooked, wicked'). Unlike 'deprived' (which describes a state of lacking necessities) or 'degenerate' (which implies a fallen state or decline from a norm), 'depraved' suggests a fixed and thorough corruption, a malignancy of the soul. It is the cold calculation behind a gratuitous cruelty, the aesthetic pleasure taken in another's degradation, and the serene conviction that one's own monstrous appetites are the only true law—evil not as a howl, but as a settled and comfortable silence.
adj
- Perverted or extremely wrong in a moral sense.e.g.“a depraved killer”
- Violating principles of rectitude or given standards of decency.e.g.“You are an atrocious person! Since the day I met you I have become steadily more depraved.”
- Distorted out of the normal course; abnormal.e.g.“The taste and digestion are often depraved, anorexia, nausea, inappetence and vomiting supervene, the woman desires innutritious or disgusting food, such as chalk, cinders, putrescent animal food, […]”
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