corrupt

(redirected from corrupter)
Also found in: Dictionary, Thesaurus, Encyclopedia, Wikipedia.

absolute power corrupts absolutely

proverb One who holds unchecked power or authority is likely to become corrupt or abuse one's position. This phrase is usually attributed to 19th-century historian Lord Acton. He really started abusing the authority of his office when he was promoted to CEO. Absolute power corrupts absolutely. A: "I never should have appointed Brian head of the committee." B: "You need to call him in for a meeting before he thinks that he can do whatever he wants. Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely." Their king isn't the first to take his power too far, and he won't be the last—absolute power corrupts absolutely.
See also: absolute, absolutely, corrupt, power

evil communications corrupt good manners

proverb Exposure to that which is evil harms one's morality or integrity. The phrase cones from the Bible. A: "Jimmy's such a good kid, but his new friends seem like troublemakers. B: "I'm concerned too. I know how evil communications corrupt good manners."
See also: corrupt, evil, good, manner

power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely

The more powerful one is, the more unscrupulous one becomes. A: "I never should have appointed him head of the committee." B: "You need to call him in for a meeting before he thinks that he can do whatever he wants. Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely."
See also: absolute, absolutely, and, corrupt, power
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2022 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.

Absolute power corrupts absolutely.

Prov. One who has total authority is very likely to abuse his position. (This phrase was used by the British historian Lord Acton: "Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely.") We thought that Johnson would be a responsible mayor, but within a year of taking office, he was as bad as all the rest. Absolute power corrupts absolutely.
See also: absolute, absolutely, corrupt, power
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
See also:
References in periodicals archive ?
Mark, 39, has played a whole lineup of police officers on screen, first donning a badge in The Corrupter back in 1999, moving on to The Departed (for which he earned an Oscar nomination), We Own The Night and Max Payne.
Mark has a funny turn
In the Discourse on Arts and Sciences, an outraged Rousseau condemns modern technology as a stimulant of social envy and as a corrupter of the martial virtues that once permitted people to be devoted citizens.
A Reinterpretation of Rousseau: A Religious System
Russell Brand: Skinned (Channel 4, 10pm) HE'S been called a deviant and a corrupter of innocents.
Nation split by star's Brand of humour; TVChoice
"God willing, we are able to protect our nation and people from every hired violator, corrupter, or terrorist." Abdullah was speaking during his first visit to the Saudi forces on the borders south of the kingdom.
Yemen-Saudi
Ben Barnes is Dorian while Colin Firth plays the corrupter.
Box Office; We rate the movies that are on at the cinema this week
In the history of Kentridge's art, there is always this migration between antipodes, whether in the troubled reciprocity of Soho and Felix or in Ubu's clownish look and malevolent meting out of injustice or in the artist's rendering of Mozart's wise Sarastro and the Queen of the Night, who is a pre-Heisenbergian sower of uncertainty, a corrupter of epistemologies who repudiates the light of truth.
William Kentridge: San Francisco Museum of Modern Art
Film: Every picture tells a story Growing old disgracefully The corruptive power of celebrity casts a dark shadow over Victorian London in Oliver Parker's take on Oscar Wilde's gothic horror with Ben Barnes (right) in the titular lead and Colin Firth in eye-catching form as his corrupter, lifelong hedonist Lord Henry Wotton Dorian Gray: Showing at Cineworld, Showcase, Odeon and VUE.
60second guide; to your week ahead
We need a more careful explication of how the hero of the paradox books has become "the antagonist of Wisdom and the corrupter of Youth" (127).
The Ways of Paradox from Lando to Donne
"The prosecution's case is that Hamid, assisted by Ahmet, was a recruiter, groomer and corrupter of young Muslims.
Accused terror trainer admits soliciting murder
Said Gobert has been known for many years as an infamous sod[omite] and as a corrupter of young folks, as well as for having in the past supplied such to Monsieur the duke de Brancas.
The Arrest of a Sodomite, 1723
Eliminating corruption is no easy task because generally both the corrupter and the corrupted benefit from the transaction.
Policies, Institutions and the Dark Side of Economics
In a part that one might assume destined to be forever eclipsed by the play's distaff lead, Irish film actor Townsend ("Wonderland") embodies the very same slow-spinning tornado of which Val at one point speaks: He's the artist as innocent and corrupter, a character at once man and myth.
ORPHEUS DESCENDING
A shift of fifteen votes would have saved the supposed corrupter of Athenian youth.
Bill's Greatest Love
In this rich and often moving study of the political and intellectual life of classical Athens, Peter Euben makes an impressive case that there exists a fundamental kinship between democratic politics and the philosophic activity of that most famous corrupter of youth, Socrates.
Corrupting Youth: Political Education, Democratic Culture, and Political Theory
Inevitably, the most egregious rap lyrics serve as the centerpiece, but they really symbolize the evils of rock in general as corrupter of youth.
Judge dread
Idioms browser ?
Full browser ?