Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun Depravity; baseness.
- noun A base act.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun Inherent baseness or vileness; shameful wickedness; depravity.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun Inherent baseness or vileness of principle, words, or actions; shameful wickedness; depravity.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun
Inherent baseness ,depravity orwickedness ;corruptness andevilness . - noun An act
evident of such a depravity.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun a corrupt or depraved or degenerate act or practice
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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Here there has just taken place a "raid" rivalling in turpitude and impudence the famous deed of Bennett Young.
Echoes of the Week 1865
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Well they've certainly changed enormously — I mean, people can live together now without it being called moral turpitude, which is a big step.
‘I’m Always In Love’ 2009
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Going further into the letter to Sheen's attorneys, Bloom also explained the term "moral turpitude."
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Neither "turpitude" nor "quotidian" get a mention in my little English-French dictionary.
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Neither "turpitude" nor "quotidian" get a mention in my little English-French dictionary.
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In fact, except Oliver Cromwell, King William, a few gentlemen who had the misfortune to be executed or exiled for high treason, and every dissenting minister that he has or can find occasion to notice, there are hardly any persons mentioned who are not stigmatized as knaves or fools, differing only in degrees of "turpitude" and "imbecility".
Famous Reviews R. Brimley Johnson 1899
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When we come to declaring opinions that are, however foolishly and unreasonably, associated with pain and even a kind of turpitude in the minds of those who strongly object to them, then some of our most powerful sympathies are naturally engaged.
On Compromise John Morley 1880
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Yet that's exactly what the federal government is trying to do, citing his record and "turpitude" as the legal grounds on which he should be removed from the country.
Thestar.com - Home Page Andrew Chung 2011
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For, as Aristotle says rightly, the moving of laughter is a fault in comedy, a kind of turpitude that depraves some part of a man's nature without a disease.
Discoveries Made Upon Men and Matter and Some Poems Ben Jonson 1605
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In the 1940s, the Court ruled that the right to procreate is a fundamental right and declared unconstitutional an Oklahoma law that required the sterilization of those convicted three times of crimes involving moral turpitude.
The Conservative Assault on the Constitution Erwin Chemerinsky 2010
alguien commented on the word turpitude
Brings to mind turpentine.
March 27, 2007
nicsims commented on the word turpitude
inherent baseness
September 16, 2007
seanahan commented on the word turpitude
typically paired with moral.
September 18, 2007
frindley commented on the word turpitude
an impressive sounding word, perfect for the passing of (superior) judgement, especially in the combination moral turpitude
March 19, 2008
frindley commented on the word turpitude
And for some reason always associated in my mind with torpor as if one state somehow leads to the other. Perhaps in a way they do – to quote my mother, 'The Devil always finds work for idle hands.'
March 19, 2008
timrmortiss commented on the word turpitude
"So then: these were Srenki, men whose virtue was the excess of vice, who with leaden zest performed quintessential evil and so redeemed their fellows from turpitude."
Jack Vance, The Domains of Koryphon
August 2, 2008