- deliberately deviating from what is regarded as normal, good, or proper
- persistently holding to what is wrong
- wayward or contrary; obstinate; cantankerous
WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026
per•verse /pɚˈvɜrs/USA pronunciation
adj.
per•verse•ness, n. [uncountable]
per•ver•si•ty /pɚˈvɜrsɪti/USA pronunciation n. [uncountable]See -vert-.
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026- willfully determined not to do what is expected or desired; contrary:a perverse desire to argue for the opposite of whatever everyone else accepts.
per•verse•ness, n. [uncountable]
per•ver•si•ty /pɚˈvɜrsɪti/USA pronunciation n. [uncountable]See -vert-.
per•verse
(pər vûrs′),USA pronunciation adj.
per•verse′ly, adv.
per•verse′ness, n.
- willfully determined or disposed to go counter to what is expected or desired;
contrary. - characterized by or proceeding from such a determination or disposition:a perverse mood.
- wayward or cantankerous.
- persistent or obstinate in what is wrong.
- turned away from or rejecting what is right, good, or proper;
wicked or corrupt.
- Latin perversus facing the wrong way, askew, origin, originally past participle of pervertere. See pervert
- Middle English 1325–75
per•verse′ness, n.
- 1. contumacious, disobedient. 4. stubborn, headstrong. See willful. 5. evil, bad, sinful.
- 1. agreeable. 4. tractable.
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
perverse /pəˈvɜːs/ adj
'perverse' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):
contrary
- contrarily
- crabbed
- cross-grained
- crotchet
- doublethink
- infection
- thrawn
- untoward
- wry
- awkward
- balky
- contrarious
- contumacious
- cranky
- cussed
- iniquitous
- intractable
- nonperverse
- oblique
- obstinate
- peevish
- perversion
- perversity
- perversive
- refractory
- thwart
- unperverse
- willful
- wrongheaded
- squint