corruption

/kəˈɹʌpʃən/

//kəˈɹʌpʃən// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"corruption" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“corruption” has 14 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #3,934. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#3,934
frequency rank, English
5,599
“C” headwords
14
tracked misspellings
1
confusable pair

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The act of corrupting or of impairing integrity, virtue, or moral principle; the state of being corrupted or debased; loss of purity or integrity.

Corpus desk

Index EN-corruption · corruption · English

corruption · rank #3,934 · 14 variants · 1 confusable

  • FREQ-COMMON #3,934
  • LEN-MEGA 10 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 1 pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 14 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 5,599
  • PHOTO-FINISH consumption

Nearest frequency peer: consumption (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “corruption”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “corruption” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

corruption vs correction
80% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for corruption
PropertyValue
Headwordcorruption
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/kəˈɹʌpʃən/
Letters10
Frequency rank#3,934
Misspellings tracked14
Confusable pairs1
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “corruption”

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).corruptionlands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “consumption” (#3,933), “cotton” (#3,935), “concluded” (#3,932). Among 5,599 “C” headwords, “corruption” is #3,934. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 14 spelling variants around corruption (IPA /kəˈɹʌpʃən/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #3,934 among 5,599 “C” headwords. Wiktionary lists 9 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 14 likely wrong-spelling variants for corruption, with forms such as "ccorruption", "corrpution", and "corrupiton". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 1 confusable-pair relationship, "correction", where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from French corruption, from Latin corruptiō, equivalent to corrupt + -ion. The correct English form is corruption, spelled C-O-R-R-U-P-T-I-O-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    The act of corrupting or of impairing integrity, virtue, or moral principle; the state of being corrupted or debased; loss of purity or integrity.
  2. 2
    The act of corrupting or making putrid, or state of being corrupt or putrid; decomposition or disorganization, in the process of putrefaction; putrefaction; deterioration.
  3. 3
    The product of corruption; putrid matter.
  4. 4
    The decomposition of biological matter.
  5. 5
    Unethical administrative or executive practices (in government or business), including bribery (offering or receiving bribes), conflicts of interest, nepotism, embezzlement, and so on.
  6. 6
    The destruction of data by manipulation of parts of it, either by deliberate or accidental human action or by imperfections in storage or transmission media.
  7. 7
    The act of changing, or of being changed, for the worse; departure from what is pure, simple, or correct.
  8. 8
    A nonstandard form of a word, expression, or text, especially when resulting from misunderstanding, transcription error, or mishearing. (See a usage note about this sense.)
  9. 9
    Something originally good or pure that has turned evil or impure; a perversion.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how corruption appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. It was necessary, by exposing the gross corruptions of monasteries, […] to exite popular indignation against them.
  2. They abstained from some of the worst methods of corruption usual to their party in its earlier days.

Etymology

Borrowed from French corruption, from Latin corruptiō, equivalent to corrupt + -ion.

Synonyms

rent-seekingabasementadulterationcorruptiondebasementdebauchmentdefilementdepravationdepravementimpurificationperversionpollutionprofanation

Antonyms

exaltationexpiationpreservationpurgationpurificationrehabilitation

This word in other languages

corrupción(Español)corruption(Français)Verderbnis(Deutsch)corruptela(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ccorruption
  • corrpution
  • corrupiton
  • corrupption
  • corrupsion
  • corruptino
  • corruptionn
  • corruptoin
  • corrupttion
  • corrutpion
  • coruption
  • corurption
  • croruption
  • ocrruption

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of corruption - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

ccorruption1corrpution2corrupiton2corrupption1corrupsion1corruptino2corruptionn1corruptoin2
Edit distance from "corruption"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "corruption"?
"corruption" is spelled C-O-R-R-U-P-T-I-O-N. The IPA pronunciation is /kəˈɹʌpʃən/.
What does "corruption" mean?
As a noun, "corruption" means: The act of corrupting or of impairing integrity, virtue, or moral principle; the state of being corrupted or debased; loss of purity or integrity.
What words are commonly confused with "corruption"?
"corruption" is commonly confused with "correction". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "corruption"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "corruption" is /kəˈɹʌpʃən/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "corruption"?
Borrowed from French corruption, from Latin corruptiō, equivalent to corrupt + -ion. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "corruption", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 10 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

ambassador#3,922impression#3,950threatened#3,913surrounded#3,912

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (14 here; floor ≥5).

concluded14 variantsexception14 variantsWisconsin14 variantssearching14 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list