pervert
part of speech
verb (pervert, perverts, perverted, perverting); noun (a pervert, perverts)
meaning for a pupil
1) verb: To change something so that it is used wrongly or for a bad purpose: "pervert the truth". tree →
2) verb (law): "Pervert the course of justice" means to try to stop the police or courts finding the truth, for example by lying or hiding evidence; this is a crime. tree →
3) noun: (rude, adult slang) a rude word grown-ups use; not for school. tree →
sense in the lessons
In law and the news, "perverting the course of justice" is a serious crime in the UK, Ireland and Australia. In formal writing, to pervert something good means to twist it into something bad. The noun is an adult insult and not for school.
examples
- He was charged with perverting the course of justice. tree →
- Lying to the police can pervert the course of justice. tree →
- They perverted the rules to get their own way. tree →
- The villain perverted the wizard's gift into a curse. tree →
- Do not pervert the truth to win an argument. tree →
note
Stress: verb "per-VERT", noun "PER-vert". Adjective "perverse" means stubbornly unreasonable, doing the opposite of what is sensible (a perverse choice). The noun is rude; do not call people this.
In the corpora
- And thou shalt take no gift; for a gift blindeth them that have sight, and perverteth the words of the righteous.
- If an unrighteous witness rise up against any man to bear perverted witness against him;
- Thou shalt not pervert the justice due to the stranger, or to the fatherless; nor take the widow's raiment to pledge.
- Cursed be he that perverteth the justice due to the stranger, fatherless, and widow.
- And his sons walked not in his ways, but turned aside after lucre, and took bribes, and perverted justice.
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «pervert» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.