Perversive
adj ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 Tending to pervert.
"There is a widely diffused notion that among all specimens of animal creation man alone possesses any glimmering of reason. This notion is largely fallacious. It is one of those ideas, based upon superficial knowledge, which appeal to the sophisticated modern public. Its initial emergence and its popularity are alike due to the confounding of what is hereditary with what is acquired, and to the perversive confusion between instinct and knowledge."
- 1 tending to corrupt or pervert wordnet
Example
More examples"There is a widely diffused notion that among all specimens of animal creation man alone possesses any glimmering of reason. This notion is largely fallacious. It is one of those ideas, based upon superficial knowledge, which appeal to the sophisticated modern public. Its initial emergence and its popularity are alike due to the confounding of what is hereditary with what is acquired, and to the perversive confusion between instinct and knowledge."
Etymology
From Latin pervers-, the past participial stem of pervertÅ, + -ive.
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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.