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turpitude

[ tur-pi-tood, -tyood ]

/ ˈtɜr pɪˌtud, -ˌtyud /

SEE SYNONYMS FOR turpitude ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

vile, shameful, or base character; depravity.

a vile or depraved act.

Origin of turpitude

1480–90; < Latin turpitūdō, equivalent to turpi(s) base, vile + -tūdō -tude

SYNONYMS FOR turpitude

1 wickedness, vice, vileness, wrongdoing.

SEE SYNONYMS FOR turpitude ON THESAURUS.COM

Words nearby turpitude

turp, turpentine, turpentine tree, turpeth, turpin, turpitude, turps, turquoise, turquoise green, turret, turret lathe

Example sentences from the Web for turpitude

The turpitude of vice and the majesty of virtue, were as apparent as in older settlements.

A New Guide for Emigrants to the West |J. M. Peck
To each one of these possible cases is assigned its exact moral quality, its exact degree of turpitude and innocency.

Ethics |John Dewey and James Hayden Tufts
Just then, however, writing out the story of his turpitude, she must needs have him in her mind.

The Landloper |Holman Day
Yes, with someone else—she has reached the pitch of turpitude of leaving Florence with her mother.

Alas! |Rhoda Broughton

His power of moral indignation at wrong and turpitude is unimpaired, though it no longer breaks out with the former vehemence.

Transcendentalism in New England |Octavius Brooks Frothingham

British Dictionary definitions for turpitude

turpitude

/ (ˈtɜːpɪˌtjuːd) /

noun

base character or action; depravity

Word Origin for turpitude

C15: from Latin turpitūdō ugliness, from turpis base