perversion

See also: Perversion and perversión

English

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English perversion.

Pronunciation

• 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

Noun

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.

Derived terms

• furversion
• tendril perversion

Related terms

• perverse
• perversive
• pervert
• perverted
• pervertedness

Translations

the action of perverting someone or something; humiliation; debasement

• Armenian: այլասերում (hy) (aylaserum)
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• Russian: извраще́ние (ru) n (izvraščénije)
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the state of being perverted; depravity; vice

• Armenian: այլասերում (hy) (aylaserum), այլասերվածություն (hy) (aylaservacutʻyun)
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• Greek: διαστροφή (el) f (diastrofí)
• Hebrew: סְטִיָּה (he) f (stiyá)
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• Russian: извращённость f (izvraščónnostʹ)
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distortion or corruption of the original course, meaning, or state of something

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a sexual practice considered abnormal; sexual deviance; immorality

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• French: perversion (fr)
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• Greek: διαστροφή (el) f (diastrofí)
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• Hindi: विपर्यास (hi) (viparyās), कुरुचि (kuruci), विकार (hi) (vikār), विकृति (hi) (vikŕti)
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• Japanese: 変態 (ja) (hentai)
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• Russian: извраще́ние (ru) n (izvraščénije), перве́рсия (ru) f (pervérsija)
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tendril perversion — see tendril perversion

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

• Danish: ^{(please verify)} perversion c
• Dutch: ^{(please verify)} perversie (nl)
• Esperanto: ^{(please verify)} perversio
• German: ^{(please verify)} Perversion (de) f
• Ido: ^{(please verify)} perversio
• Interlingua: ^{(please verify)} perversion (ia)
• Occitan: ^{(please verify)} perversion (oc) f
• Slovene: ^{(please verify)} pervêrzija f
• Swedish: ^{(please verify)} perversion (sv) c
• Turkish: ^{(please verify)} sapıklık (tr), ^{(please verify)} sapkınlık (tr)

Further reading

• “perversion”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.

Anagrams

• overripens

Danish

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

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

Noun

perversion c (singular definite perversionen, plural indefinite perversioner)

1. perversion

   Hyponym: yndlingsperversion

   seksuel perversion ― sexual perversion

Declension

Declension of perversion

common gender	singular		plural
	indefinite	definite	indefinite	definite
nominative	perversion	perversionen	perversioner	perversionerne
genitive	perversions	perversionens	perversioners	perversionernes

Further reading

• “perversion” in Den Danske Ordbog

Finnish

Pronunciation

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

Noun

perversion

1. genitive singular of perversio

French

Etymology

Learned borrowing from Latin perversiōnis.

Pronunciation

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

Noun

perversion f (plural perversions)

1. perversion

   Synonym: perversité

Related terms

• pervertir

Further reading

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

Interlingua

Etymology

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.

Pronunciation

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

Noun

perversion (plural perversions)

1. perversion

Related terms

• perverse
• perversitate
• perverter
• pervertimento
• pervertitor

Middle English

Etymology

Learned borrowing from Latin perversiōnis.

Noun

perversion (plural perversions)

1. perversion

Descendants

• > English: perversion (inherited)

Further reading

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

Occitan

Etymology

Ultimately from Latin perversiōnis.

Noun

perversion f (plural perversions)

1. perversion

Further reading

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

Swedish

Etymology

Learned borrowing from Latin perversiōnis.

Noun

perversion c

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

Declension

Declension of perversion

		nominative	genitive
singular	indefinite	perversion	perversions
	definite	perversionen	perversionens
plural	indefinite	perversioner	perversioners
	definite	perversionerna	perversionernas

Related terms

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

See also

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

References

• “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)