# subvert

> English word · Verb · IPA /səbˈvɜːt/ · frequency rank #30,993

## Definitions
1. To overturn from the foundation; to overthrow; to ruin utterly.
2. To pervert, as the mind, and turn it from the truth; to corrupt; to confound.
3. To upturn convention from the foundation by undermining it (literally, to turn from beneath).

## Etymology
From Middle English subverten, from Old French subvertir, from Latin subvertō (“to overthrow”, literally “to underturn, turn from beneath”).

## Easily confused with
- **subset** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/subset-vs-subvert)
- **subject** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/subject-vs-subvert)
- **subtext** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/subtext-vs-subvert)

## Common misspellings (11)
`sbuvert`, `ssubvert`, `subbvert`, `subevrt`, `subverrt`, `subvertt`, `subvetr`, `subvret`, `subvvert`, `suvbert`, `usbvert`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/subvert