perversion

Inherited from Middle English perversion.

• enPR: pər-vûr′zhən
• (Received Pronunciation, General Australian) IPA^(key): /pəˈvɜː.ʒən/
• (General American, Canada) IPA^(key): /pəɹˈvɜɹ.ʒən/

  • Audio (US):

    (file)

• (New Zealand) IPA^(key): /pəˈvøː.ʒən/
• (Scotland) IPA^(key): /pəɾˈvɛɾ.ʒən/, /pʌɾˈvɛɾ.ʒʌn/
• Rhymes: -ɜː(ɹ)ʒən
• Hyphenation: per‧ver‧sion

perversion (countable and uncountable, plural perversions)

1. The action of perverting someone or something; humiliation; debasement.

   Synonyms: abasement, corruption, debauchment; see also Thesaurus:corruption

2. The state of being perverted; depravity; vice.

   Synonyms: degeneracy, sinfulness, turpitude; see also Thesaurus:iniquity

3. Distortion or corruption of the original course, meaning, or state of something.
   • 1834, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], chapter VI, in Francesca Carrara. […], volume II, London: Richard Bentley, […], (successor to Henry Colburn), →OCLC, pages 61–62:

     After all, the great error in human judgment is not so much wilful perversion, as that we judge according to situation, and always make that situation our own ; while the chances are, that we really have not one thought, feeling, or habit, in common with those on whom we yet think ourselves qualified to decide.

4. A sexual practice considered abnormal; sexual deviance; immorality.

   Antonym: normophilia

5. (geometry) Ellipsis of tendril perversion.

• “perversion”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.

• overripens

Learned borrowing from Latin perversiōnis, from pervertere. Compare pervers.

• IPA^(key): [pæɐ̯.væɐ̯ˈɕoˀn]
• Rhymes: -on
• Hyphenation: per‧ver‧sion

perversion c (singular definite perversionen, plural indefinite perversioner)

1. perversion

   Hyponym: yndlingsperversion

   seksuel perversion ― sexual perversion

• “perversion” in Den Danske Ordbog

• IPA^(key): /ˈperʋersion/, [ˈpe̞rʋe̞rˌs̠io̞n]
• Rhymes: -ion
• Syllabification^(key): per‧ver‧si‧on
• Hyphenation^(key): per‧ver‧si‧on

perversion

1. genitive singular of perversio

Learned borrowing from Latin perversiōnis.

• IPA^(key): /pɛʁ.vɛʁ.sjɔ̃/
• Rhymes: -ɔ̃
• Hyphenation: per‧ver‧sion

perversion f (plural perversions)

1. perversion

   Synonym: perversité

• pervertir

• “perversion”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012

Borrowed from English perversion, French perversion, Italian perversióne, Spanish perversión and Portuguese perversão; all from Latin perversiōnis. Compare German Perversion and Russian перве́рсия (pervérsija). By surface analysis, pervers- +‎ -ion.

• IPA^(key): /per.verˈsjon/
• Rhymes: -on
• Hyphenation: per‧ver‧sion

perversion (plural perversions)

1. perversion

Learned borrowing from Latin perversiōnis.

perversion (plural perversions)

1. perversion

• “perversiọ̄n, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 10 May 2026: “Corruption of justice or the soul.”.

Ultimately from Latin perversiōnis.

perversion f (plural perversions)

1. perversion

• Honnorat, Simon-Jude (1847), Dictionnaire Provençal-Français (tome 2, P-Z)‎^[1] (in French), Repos, page 863

Learned borrowing from Latin perversiōnis.

perversion c

1. (countable, uncountable) perversion (a sexual practice considered abnormal; sexual deviance; immorality)

• pervers (“perverted”)
• pervo (“perv”)

• parafili (“paraphilia”)
• snuskhummer (“perv”)

• “perversion”, in Svensk ordbok [Dictionary of Swedish] (in Swedish)
• “perversion”, in Svenska Akademiens ordlista [Wordlist of the Swedish Academy] (in Swedish)
• “perversion”, in Svenska Akademiens ordbok [Dictionary of the Swedish Academy] (in Swedish)