deprave

"I don't think you should censor books but there is this strange anomaly - it's common sense that films can deprave and corrupt, and that books can't."

From BBC ● Aug. 31, 2012

It has been 14 years since China officially banned console video games, worrying the living-room boxes would dumb down or deprave the brains of Chinese youth.

From Washington Post

The legal definition of obscenity in Great Britain is that which tends "to deprave and corrupt."

From Time Magazine Archive

On the contrary it would so deprave our currency that it would bring ruin, particularly to the wage earners of the country and those on fixed salaries.

From Time Magazine Archive

He allows, besides, that custom, education, and example, may blind and deprave our intellectual and moral powers; but denies that the whole of our notions and sentiments could result from education.

From Moral Science; a Compendium of Ethics by Alexander Bain

Yes; for it is shown that, instead of correcting him, your penitentiary system depraves.

From Mysteries of Paris, V3 by Eugène Sue

Yes, for it is demonstrated that, instead of correcting, your penitentiary system depraves; instead of ameliorating, it renders worse; instead of curing slight moral defects, it renders them incurable.

From The Mysteries of Paris, Volume 5 of 6 by Eugène Sue

As to real gallantry, the French style depraves the minds of men least, ours is most favorable to the peace of families.

From The History of Emily Montague by Frances Brooke

There, in Siberia, idleness depraves people, and often calls forth ugly feelings toward life.

From Mother by Maksim Gorky

Civilisation, in this case, depraves the birds, as often it does men.

From The Truth About Woman by C. Gasquoine (Catherine Gasquoine) Hartley

Yet its parties, even at their most decadent and depraved, were never quite cool.

From Slate ● Mar. 30, 2026

Intimately acquainted with Richard’s malignity, these ruined royals know only too well the toll of his depraved machinations.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 26, 2026

"His actions were depraved and devious and go against the kindness and care our dedicated professionals provide to children each day."

From BBC ● Feb. 12, 2026

In actuality, “The Housemaid” is about as depraved and delicious as a mainstream film can get, packed with narrative twists and guffaw-worthy choices from everyone involved.

From Salon ● Jan. 31, 2026

How could Marcus —mad, depraved Marcus—be overlord of the Empire?

From "An Ember in the Ashes" by Sabaa Tahir

These ordures are rapidly depraving the public taste, and lessening its relish for sound food.

From Memoir, Correspondence, And Miscellanies, From The Papers Of Thomas Jefferson, Volume 4 by Thomas Jefferson Randolph

Besides, how much slovenly thinking, which is slovenly expressed—vexing the public ear and depraving the taste and understanding of the reader—would never appear if the writer had to append his signature to his production?

From Bygones Worth Remembering, Vol. 1 (of 2) by George Jacob Holyoake

The facility of divorce has depraving effects, upon both sexes.

From Satires And Profanities by G. W. (George William) Foote

Depravā′tion, act of depraving: state of being depraved: depravity.—adj.

From Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 1 of 4: A-D) by Various

For they wax more proud, more wayward, more envious, suspicious, misjudging and depraving other men, with the delight of their own praise, and such other spiritual vices of the soul.

From Dialogue of Comfort Against Tribulation With Modifications To Obsolete Language By Monica Stevens by Monica Stevens