adjective
perverse
Regarded as violating accepted moral standards.
The villain takes perverse pleasure in the suffering of innocent people.
Etymology
The Latin ancestor means turned away or wrong. The moral sense applies that directional judgment to conduct regarded as departing from accepted standards.
More examples
- She condemns the perverse cruelty of the prison guards.
- The novel explores a ruler's perverse desire to torment his subjects.
- They regard exploiting desperate families for profit as perverse.
Forms
perverse · more perverse · most perverse
perversity noun — The quality of being morally unacceptable.
Similar words
- immoral
- Means morally wrong without necessarily suggesting distorted desires.
- depraved
- Suggests extreme moral corruption, not merely violating accepted standards.