pervert

English

Etymology

From Old French pervertir, itself from the Latin pervertō.

Pronunciation

• (noun)
  • (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈpəː.vəːt/, /ˈpəː.vət/

  • Audio (Southern England):

    (file)

  • (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈpɚ.vɚt/
  • Rhymes: -ɜː(ɹ)və(ɹ)t
• (verb)
  • (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /pəˈvəːt/

    • Audio (Southern England):

      (file)

  • (General American) IPA^(key): /pɚˈvɚt/
  • Rhymes: -ɜː(ɹ)t

Noun

pervert (plural perverts)

1. (dated) One who has been perverted; one who has turned to error, or adopted a twisted sense of values or morals.
   • 1867, Stephen Elliott, Sermons (page 382)

     And yet it is not only tolerated, but perverts are making to it in England and this country, — perverts among the intelligent and the learned. For these things, which I have quoted, are not accusations made in a corner, but have been published in the face of the world by one of the profoundest theologians of the day, and challenge confutation.

   • 1925, The Dalhousie Review (volume 5, page 115)

     […] a religious pervert is ever a doubtful product. One separated from the fellows of his youth and the faith of his fathers, by acceptance of a different religion, is of necessity more or less adrift on the sea of life […]

   • 2001, Ismāʻīl Salāmī, Islamic Views on Human Rights: Viewpoints of Iranian Scholars (page 128)

     According to the Holy Qur'an, those who cast off God's signs and follow Satan and their caprice are perverts; they are likened to dogs […]

2. A person whose sexual habits are not considered acceptable.

   Synonym: (slang) perv

   Antonym: normophile

   Those perverts were trying to spy on us while we changed clothes!

   • 1951, J. D. Salinger, chapter 24, in The Catcher in the Rye, Boston, Mass.: Little, Brown and Company, →OCLC:

     I know more damn perverts, at schools and all, than anybody you ever met, and they're always being perverty when I'm around.

Usage notes

• In contemporary usage, pervert is usually understood to refer to a sexually perverted person or anyone who seems creepy. Traditionally, the word was mainly associated with persons of false religious beliefs.

Derived terms

• perverty
• tervert

Translations

one who has turned to error

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 墮落者 / 堕落者 (duòluòzhě)

• Esperanto: perversulo, perversiulo, devojiĝanto
• Finnish: pervertti
• French: déviant (fr) m, pervers (fr) m
• Japanese: 変質者 (ja) (へんしつしゃ, henshitsusha)
• Latin: perversus m
• Russian: дегенера́т (ru) m (degenerát)

sexually perverted person

• Arabic: مُنْحَرِف m (munḥarif), مُنْحَرِفَة f (munḥarifa)
• Armenian: ուրացող (hy) (uracʻoġ)
• Belarusian: вычварэ́нец m (vyčvarénjec)
• Bulgarian: извратеняк m (izvratenjak)
• Burmese: နှာဘူး (my) (hnabhu:)
• Cebuano: manyak
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 性變態者 / 性变态者 (xìngbiàntàizhě), 色狼 (zh) (sèláng)

• Danish: perverst menneske
• Dutch: perverseling
• Esperanto: perversulo
• Estonian: pervert (et)
• Finnish: pervertti, pervo (fi) (colloquial)
• French: pervers (fr) m
• Georgian: გარყვნილი (garq̇vnili)
• German: Perversling m
• Greek: ανώμαλος (el) m (anómalos)
• Hebrew: סוֹטֶה m (sote)
• Icelandic: öfuguggi m, pervert m, perri m (colloquial)
• Indonesian: cabul (id), mesum (id)
• Italian: pervertito (it) m, pervertita (it) f
• Japanese: 痴漢 (ja) (ちかん, chikan), 性的倒錯者 (せいてきとうさくしゃ, seitekitōsakusha), 変態 (ja) (へんたい, hentai)
• Korean: 변태(變態) (ko) (byeontae)
• Latin: obscēnus m, obscēna f
• Lithuanian: iškrypėlis (lt) m, (milder) ištvirkėlis m
• Macedonian: изопа́ченик m (izopáčenik), пе́рверзник m (pérverznik)
• Polish: zboczeniec (pl) m (colloquial), dewiant (pl) m
• Portuguese: pervertido (pt) m, tarado (pt) m
• Russian: извраще́нец (ru) m (izvraščénec), перве́рт (ru) m (pervért), пе́рверт (ru) m (pérvert)
• Spanish: pervertido (es) m
• Tagalog: bastos, manyak, manyakis (slang)
• Turkish: sapık (tr)
• Ukrainian: збо́ченець m (zbóčenecʹ)
• Welsh: gwyrdröwr

Verb

pervert (third-person singular simple present perverts, present participle perverting, simple past and past participle perverted)

1. (transitive) To turn another way; to divert.

   Synonyms: divert, steer, veer

   • 1623, William Shakespeare, Cymbeline:

     Let's follow him, and pervert the present wrath.

2. (transitive) To corrupt; to cause to be untrue; corrupted or otherwise impure

   Synonyms: corrupt, lead astray

   How could stopping someone from killing himself or herself "pervert the course of justice"?

   • 1667, John Milton, Paradise Lost:

     He, in the serpent, had perverted Eve.

   • 1690, “The Preface to the Reader”, in A Full and True Relation of the Great and Wonderful Revolution That Hapned Lately in the Kingdom of Siam in the East-Indies, London: Randal Taylor, page vi:

     He was a good Proteſtant, but when he fell into the Jeſuits hands, they ſoon perverted him, and made him embrace the Roman Catholick Religion […]

   • 2004 April 15, “Morning swoop in hunt for Jodi's killer”, in The Scotsman‎^[1]:

     A spokesman for Lothian and Borders Police said: "We can confirm that a 15-year-old boy has been arrested and charged in connection with the murder of Jodi Jones. A 45-year-old has also been arrested in connection with allegations of attempting to pervert the course of justice. A report on this has been sent to the procurator fiscal."

3. To misapply, misuse, use for a nefarious purpose

   Synonyms: misapply, misuse

   He has perverted his talents to dishonest gain.

4. to misinterpret designedly.

   Synonym: twist

   pervert one's words

5. (intransitive) To become perverted; to take the wrong course.
   • c. 1384, Thomas Usk, The Testament of Love:

     After that worde, "better is it to dey than lyve false," and al wolde perverted people false reporte make

Translations

to turn another way

• Bulgarian: отклонявам (bg) (otklonjavam)
• Finnish: harhauttaa (fi)

to turn from truth

• Bulgarian: изопачавам (bg) (izopačavam)
• Finnish: johtaa harhaan
• Icelandic: spilla (is)
• Maori: whakapeau
• Ottoman Turkish: بوزمق (bozmak)
• Russian: извраща́ть (ru) impf (izvraščátʹ), изврати́ть (ru) pf (izvratítʹ)
• Swedish: förvanska (sv), förvränga (sv)

to misuse

• Bulgarian: използвам неправилно (izpolzvam nepravilno)
• Icelandic: misnota

to misinterpret designedly

• Finnish: vääristellä (fi)
• Icelandic: rangfæra, rangsnúa, afbaka (is)
• Russian: извраща́ть (ru) impf (izvraščátʹ), изврати́ть (ru) pf (izvratítʹ)
• Swedish: förvränga (sv), förvanska (sv)
• Ukrainian: спотво́рювати impf (spotvórjuvaty), спотво́рити pf (spotvóryty), перекру́чувати impf (perekrúčuvaty), перекрути́ти pf (perekrutýty), викривля́ти impf (vykryvljáty), ви́кривити pf (výkryvyty)

to take the wrong course

• Bulgarian: извращавам (bg) (izvraštavam)
• Finnish: harhautua (fi)
• Polish: zboczyć (pl)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Ido: ^{(please verify)} perversigar (io)
• Spanish: ^{(please verify)} pervertir (es)

Related terms

• perverse
• perversion

Anagrams

• prevert, vertrep

Icelandic

Etymology

Borrowed from English pervert.

Noun

pervert m (genitive singular perverts, nominative plural pervertar)

1. pervert

   Synonyms: perri, öfuguggi

Declension

Declension of pervert (masculine)

	singular		plural
	indefinite	definite	indefinite	definite
nominative	pervert	pervertinn	pervertar	pervertarnir
accusative	pervert	pervertinn	perverta	pervertana
dative	pervert, perverti	pervertnum, pervertinum	pervertum	pervertunum
genitive	perverts	pervertsins	perverta	pervertanna