How to Use perverse in a Sentence

perverse

adjective
Definition of perversenext
Synonyms for perversenext
  • He seems to take perverse pleasure in making things as difficult as possible.
  • But the series doesn’t treat death with the perverse glee of a cheesy ’90s hit — at least not yet.
    — Ben Rosenstock, Vulture, 15 Oct. 2021
  • Court records also show that over time, the demands in the hoax calls grew more perverse.
    — Andrew Wolfson, The Courier-Journal, 5 May 2022
  • In a perverse and terrible way, Vladimir Putin has done the world a great service.
    — William Falk, The Week, 6 Mar. 2022
  • Some of them are doing it out of a perverse desire to make a difference in the world.
    — Taylor Wilson, USA TODAY, 7 July 2022
  • The story of the Murdaughs, King says, may be even more perverse than the fictional Prince of Tides.
    — Town & Country, 4 Dec. 2022
  • In the Realm of the Senses has long been considered one of the most perverse and erotic films to have ever slinked across the screen.
    — Deanna Janes, Harper's BAZAAR, 25 May 2022
  • That might seem a bit perverse, given all that’s on offer.
    — Washington Post, 24 Feb. 2022
  • Once a recall makes the ballot, the rules are even more perverse and less democratic.
    — Los Angeles Times, 15 Sep. 2021
  • This is a perverse, painful way to deal with such a critical issue.
    — Apratim Gautam, Fortune, 4 Nov. 2022
  • Getting rid of that set of perverse incentives would be a good idea.
    — Ivan Oransky, Scientific American, 1 Aug. 2023
  • In a perverse way, May December is a tribute to the alchemy of screen acting.
    — David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter, 6 Dec. 2023
  • Michael Douglas as Benjamin Franklin is a concept just perverse enough to work.
    — Joe Reid, Vulture, 25 May 2024
  • But the issue has only become more perverse and rampant in the 20 years since she was rescued.
    — Chris Eberhart, Fox News, 3 Apr. 2023
  • Writing is such a solitary art — onanism with words — that only the most perverse would want someone watching the act.
    — Odie Henderson, BostonGlobe.com, 18 Jan. 2023
  • Some seemed to take a perverse delight in imagining the KFC team’s reaction to their bids.
    — H. Claire Brown, New York Times, 29 Nov. 2023
  • Or at least, that’s the most generous reading of this perverse picaresque.
    — Ann Hornaday, Washington Post, 22 Nov. 2022
  • Much like the rumor about Willie Bennett shared by a few teens in a Mission Hill smoke session, this, too, was a perverse game of telephone.
    — Seyward Darby, Longreads, 19 Mar. 2024
  • But the incentives to create dynasty trusts are more perverse than most.
    — Howard Gleckman, Forbes, 14 Oct. 2021
  • At the sentencing, the judge called Vicki the evil mastermind of a perverse and horrendous crime.
    — Stephanie Nolasco, Fox News, 10 Apr. 2022
  • The Affordable Care Act triggered a race to the bottom by giving health plans perverse incentives to attract the healthy and avoid the sick.
    — John C. Goodman, Forbes, 18 June 2021
  • The Maid, Tyrel) has a dependably perverse sense of humor; his films knock your jaw slack with riskiness.
    — Leah Greenblatt and Joshua Rothkopf, EW.com, 18 Jan. 2023
  • There’s a defiance in him, the kind that forms in response to being told your entire being is perverse.
    — New York Times, 7 July 2021
  • While intentions may be good, the impact of such rules are perverse making things worse for everyone in the long run.
    — Phillip Molnar, San Diego Union-Tribune, 28 Jan. 2022
  • How perverse to claim that harming the Black community is a civil right cause.
    — New York Daily News Editorial Board, New York Daily News, 29 Apr. 2024
  • The first film is a bug-eyed rant (delivered, in fact, by Dr. Wilde, the director); the second, a perverse silent movie in which two babies are made up to look like bride and groom.
    — Ed Park, The New York Review of Books, 14 Mar. 2023
  • The absence of a trial has raised, for some, a perverse presumption of innocence.
    — Tunku Varadarajan, WSJ, 19 Aug. 2022
  • Some of you simply can’t get past the perverse nature of the facts above, which is understandable, but consider it from my point of view.
    — Dallas News, 26 Jan. 2023
  • The resulting dynamic is perverse: U.S. institutions train many of the world’s best tech experts, only to send them away.
    — Michèle A. Flournoy, Foreign Affairs, 24 Oct. 2023
  • Both of these are a perverse corruption of our American institutions.
    — Sasha Hupka, The Arizona Republic, 9 July 2024

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'perverse.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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