Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Corruption \Cor*rup"tion\ (k?r-r?p"sh?n), n. [F. corruption, L.
   corruptio.]
   1. The act of corrupting or making putrid, or state of being
      corrupt or putrid; decomposition or disorganization, in
      the process of putrefaction; putrefaction; deterioration.

            The inducing and accelerating of putrefaction is a
            subject of very universal inquiry; for corruption is
            a reciprocal to ``generation''.       --Bacon.

   2. The product of corruption; putrid matter.

   3. The act of corrupting or of impairing integrity, virtue,
      or moral principle; the state of being corrupted or
      debased; loss of purity or integrity; depravity;
      wickedness; impurity; bribery.

            It was necessary, by exposing the gross corruptions
            of monasteries, . . . to exite popular indignation
            against them.                         --Hallam.

            They abstained from some of the worst methods of
            corruption usual to their party in its earlier days.
                                                  --Bancroft.

   Note: Corruption, when applied to officers, trustees, etc.,
         signifies the inducing a violation of duty by means of
         pecuniary considerations. --Abbott.

   4. The act of changing, or of being changed, for the worse;
      departure from what is pure, simple, or correct; as, a
      corruption of style; corruption in language.

   {Corruption of blood} (Law), taint or impurity of blood, in
      consequence of an act of attainder of treason or felony,
      by which a person is disabled from inheriting any estate
      or from transmitting it to others.

            Corruption of blood can be removed only by act of
            Parliament.                           --Blackstone.

   Syn: Putrescence; putrefaction; defilement; contamination;
        deprivation; debasement; adulteration; depravity; taint.
        See {Depravity}.

Source : WordNet®

corruption
     n 1: lack of integrity or honesty (especially susceptibility to
          bribery); use of a position of trust for dishonest gain
          [syn: {corruptness}] [ant: {incorruptness}]
     2: in a state of progressive putrefaction [syn: {putrescence},
        {putridness}, {rottenness}]
     3: decay of matter (as by rot or oxidation)
     4: moral perversion; impairment of virtue and moral principles;
        "the luxury and corruption among the upper classes";
        "moral degeneracy followed intellectual degeneration";
        "its brothels; its opium parlors; its depravity" [syn: {degeneracy},
         {depravity}]
     5: destroying someone's (or some group's) honesty or loyalty;
        undermining moral integrity; "corruption of a minor"; "the
        big city's subversion of rural innocence" [syn: {subversion}]
     6: inducement (as of a public official) by improper means (as
        bribery) to violate duty (as by commiting a felony); "he
        was held on charges of corruption and racketeering"