The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Corruption \Cor*rup"tion\ (k?r-r?p"sh?n), n. [F. corruption, L.
   corruptio.]
   1. The act of corrupting or making putrid, or state of being
      corrupt or putrid; decomposition or disorganization, in
      the process of putrefaction; putrefaction; deterioration.
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            The inducing and accelerating of putrefaction is a
            subject of very universal inquiry; for corruption is
            a reciprocal to "generation".         --Bacon.
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   2. The product of corruption; putrid matter.
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   3. The act of corrupting or of impairing integrity, virtue,
      or moral principle; the state of being corrupted or
      debased; loss of purity or integrity; depravity;
      wickedness; impurity; bribery.
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            It was necessary, by exposing the gross corruptions
            of monasteries, . . . to exite popular indignation
            against them.                         --Hallam.
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            They abstained from some of the worst methods of
            corruption usual to their party in its earlier days.
                                                  --Bancroft.
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   Note: Corruption, when applied to officers, trustees, etc.,
         signifies the inducing a violation of duty by means of
         pecuniary considerations. --Abbott.
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   4. The act of changing, or of being changed, for the worse;
      departure from what is pure, simple, or correct; as, a
      corruption of style; corruption in language.
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   Corruption of blood (Law), taint or impurity of blood, in
      consequence of an act of attainder of treason or felony,
      by which a person is disabled from inheriting any estate
      or from transmitting it to others.
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            Corruption of blood can be removed only by act of
            Parliament.                           --Blackstone.

   Syn: Putrescence; putrefaction; defilement; contamination;
        deprivation; debasement; adulteration; depravity; taint.
        See Depravity.
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WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):

corruption
    n 1: lack of integrity or honesty (especially susceptibility to
         bribery); use of a position of trust for dishonest gain
         [syn: corruptness, corruption] [ant: incorruption,
         incorruptness]
    2: in a state of progressive putrefaction [syn: putrescence,
       putridness, rottenness, corruption]
    3: decay of matter (as by rot or oxidation)
    4: moral perversion; impairment of virtue and moral principles;
       "the luxury and corruption among the upper classes"; "moral
       degeneracy followed intellectual degeneration"; "its
       brothels, its opium parlors, its depravity"; "Rome had fallen
       into moral putrefaction" [syn: corruption, degeneracy,
       depravation, depravity, putrefaction]
    5: destroying someone's (or some group's) honesty or loyalty;
       undermining moral integrity; "corruption of a minor"; "the
       big city's subversion of rural innocence" [syn: corruption,
       subversion]
    6: inducement (as of a public official) by improper means (as
       bribery) to violate duty (as by commiting a felony); "he was
       held on charges of corruption and racketeering"