\De*prav"i*ty\, n. [From {Deprave}: cf. L. pravitas
crookedness, perverseness.]
The state of being depraved or corrupted; a vitiated state of
moral character; general badness of character; wickedness of
mind or heart; absence of religious feeling and principle.
{Total depravity}. See {Original sin}, and {Calvinism}.
Syn: Corruption; vitiation; wickedness; vice; contamination;
     degeneracy.
Usage: {Depravity}, {Depravation}, {Corruption}. Depravilty
       is a vitiated state of mind or feeling; as, the
       depravity of the human heart; depravity of public
       morals. Depravation points to the act or process of
       making depraved, and hence to the end thus reached;
       as, a gradual depravation of principle; a depravation
       of manners, of the heart, etc. Corruption is the only
       one of these words which applies to physical
       substances, and in reference to these denotes the
       process by which their component parts are dissolved.
       Hence, when figuratively used, it denotes an utter
       vitiation of principle or feeling. Depravity applies
       only to the mind and heart: we can speak of a depraved
       taste, or a corrupt taste; in the first we introduce
       the notion that there has been the influence of bad
       training to pervert; in the second, that there is a
       want of true principle to pervert; in the second, that
       there is a want of true principles to decide. The
       other two words have a wider use: we can speak of the
       depravation or the corruption of taste and public
       sentiment. Depravity is more or less open; corruption
       is more or less disguised in its operations. What is
       depraved requires to be reformed; what is corrupt
       requires to be purified.