adjective
perverse
puh-VURS
adjective
1
Deliberately behaving in a way that is unreasonable, contrary, or against what is expected or sensible.
"It seemed perverse to complain about the free upgrade."
"There's a perverse satisfaction in doing things the hard way."
2
Showing an unusual and often unhealthy or twisted deviation from what is considered normal or moral.
"He took a perverse pleasure in watching them argue."
How to Use Perverse
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishStubbornly or oddly contrary to what makes sense, or twisted in a darker moral sense.
Easily confused with
Common pairings
perverse logic
perverse pleasure
perverse incentive
Word Forms
more perverse comparative, perverser comparative, perversed past tense, perverses plural, perverses singular, most perverse superlative, perversest superlative
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Etymology
From Old French pervers, from Latin perversus ("turned the wrong way"), past participle of pervertere — see "pervert."