Link Centre Dictionary

perverse

per·verse

UK/pəˈvɜːs/ US/pɚˈvɝs/ uncommon archaic

adjective

1.

marked by a disposition to oppose and contradict

  • “took perverse satisfaction in foiling her plans”
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2.

resistant to guidance or discipline

  • “Mary Mary quite contrary”
  • “an obstinate child with a violent temper”
  • “a perverse mood”
  • “wayward behavior”
Synonyms
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3.

marked by immorality; deviating from what is considered right or proper or good

  • “depraved criminals”
  • “a perverted sense of loyalty”
  • “the reprobate conduct of a gambling aristocrat”
Synonyms
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Origin

From Middle English perverse, pervers, from Old French pervers, from Latin perversum (“thoroughly turned”), past participle of pervertere, from per- (“thoroughly”) + vertere (“to turn”).

Phrases

  • bite off one's nose to spite one's face
  • perverse incentive

Related words

Word family

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.